The very first version of the Rome Reborn product went under construction 10 years ago, and the task was finally finished last year. Included in it were 250 highly detailed structures, and a total of over 7,000 structures in all. They used a 1:250 scale model of Rome that took forty years to create (from 1933 to 1973). This smaller scale Rome was actually constructed out of Plaster of Paris. Using laser scanners they scanned the Plaster of Paris model and created the virtual model. The original use of this model was to be utilized in a theater at UCLA. Since last year the Rome Reborn Project has seen many faces, it’s most recent being Rome Reborn 2.0 which improved the detail significantly. Google then joined in and offered to include Rome Reborn in Google Earth.

With Rome Reborn in Google Earth, it’s the equivalent of an virtual time machine, which can be used to study the history of Rome and other great cities of the world. If you currently have Google Earth (any version), you can enjoy touring ancient Rome. Not only can you navigate around the structures, but you can also go in them, and enter areas like the Colosseum and even the Roman Senate. With more time, more information will be added researches believe. They also hope that by pioneering this research into the past – other researchers will catch some inspiration and create 3D models of other forgotten cities.

User interface Features

User interface features affect nearly every user.  While it is not the most important part of an OS, user interface features often go a long way towards the impression of an OS, and will likely draw many comparisons to other Microsoft operating systems.  Windows 7 comes with a stylish end-user interface. You can expect icons to respond with quick animated movements, which is done to enhance the user experience. So far, compliments for the speed and ease of use of the user interface have been dominant for the new OS.

The desktop is clearly much cleaner and better organized, and comes with docking options that are similar to the Mac’s OS.  New applications and improvements to existing applications have been added as well. For example, you will find the calculator to be much improved and more powerful. It supports real life conversions and calculations, like weight and length converters.

If you are in the habit of placing sticky notes all over your monitor and work area, you will surely welcome the new stick notes application that comes with the desktop. You can stick as many virtual notes on your desktop, and delete them as you work. Now your workstation will certainly look cleaner and more organized. You are also saving trees by using less paper!

A new version of Windows Media Center will also launch with this release. New gadgets are being integrated into the Media Center and Windows Explorer. Gadgets are standalone applications that sit on the desktop (some are hosted on another server). There are web gadgets, sidebar gadgets, and sideshow gadgets (run on external displays).

System Performance Features

Windows 7 now offers support for virtual hard disks and boasts improved performance on multi-core processors, improved boot performance, improved SSD support and performance, and improved kernel performance.  Obviously, performance is a key goal for Windows 7.  With the current pre-release version, even at an unfinished state, it appears that Microsoft is doing extremely well in achieving this goal.  The pre-release version tested is remarkably stable and offers noticeably better performance than Windows XP with the latest hardware.

If you visit the control panel, you will find that many new items are added, including Accelerators, Display Calibration Wizard, Gadgets, Recovery, Troubleshooting, and more. Windows Security Center is now known as Windows Solution Center, and it is responsible for maintaining the security of the system.

Unique Features

The touch screen feature is a new and unique feature that enables many interesting touch applications. For instance, you can have a touch app that works exactly like a keyboard. This means you can type an entire document without the use of an additional piece of hardware. You can also use this feature to play the piano or do a painting. The feature is something that has not been previously available in earlier versions of the Microsoft OS.

Other unique features include speech and hand writing recognition. Hand writing recognition technology can help convert human handwriting into digital text.

Developer Features

Developers can look forward to using a new networking API to develop SOAP based web services in native (or machine) code. There are also new features that reduce application install times. Development of installation packages is simplified in the new OS as well.
 

Still in beta, Google’s "Chrome" has attracted less than 2% of the Internet browser market at its peak, but Google engineers are working to enhance the software to make it more appealing and useful to its users. One very popular idea for improving Chrome is the addition of an extension system, which will enable third-party developers to produce plugins for any number of add-on features, ranging from browser enhancements to RSS readers, calendar/reminder extensions, etc.Chrome users can then install the plugins to complete tasks that Google did not integrate into the web browser.

Mozilla Firefox, a browser that holds the record for the most downloads in a single day, has the ability to integrate third-party plugins, which has been perhaps the greatest factor in achieving its 20% web browser market share.

One of Google’s developers made the announcement that Google is looking into integrating third-party browser plugins for Chrome. They also released a design document that provided an outline for what needed to be done in order to add plugin support.  This functionality is certainly at the top of the wishlist for most Chrome users, and Google seems to be working on providing the support as quickly as possible.  The first plugins planned for integration include Flash and an ad blocker (ironic), which are some of the more popular plugins for Mozilla Firefox.

Unfortunately, Google has yet to announce when this implementation will be complete, but at least we know that they plan on offering extension support in the near future.
 

CyberLink PowerCinema 6

With Schedules Recording and Time-Shift Playback, PowerCinema 6 turns your computer into a personal television recorder, which frees users from the chains of regular television.  The software offers support for MPEG-4 AVC hi-def video.  Multiple subtitles and audio tracks can also be recorded, which enables you to change the language while watching recorded television.

PowerCinema 6 also comes loaded with a number of new usability features. The Entertainment Interface categorizes your media, including Entertainment which would be DVDs, music, radio, TV and Memories that consists of videos and photos. It also automatically detects the size of your screen and sets video display to either 4:3 playback or widescreen. With color-coded hotkeys, you can easily navigate your way to key features of the software. You can use these color keys either on the screen or by separately purchasing the Cyberlink Remote Control. You have the option to Quick Review your recent photos/videos/music, and PowerCinema 6 also enables you to select a group of files to play or edit.

PowerCinema 6 provides quick access to your favorite audio as well. You can easily locate your music using Quick Music Search, which uses meta data information to find the desired track. Power Cinema 6 supports MP3, WAV, WMA, and Audio CD (CDA) formats.

The audio and video is high quality, though.  Since Google Talk’s video traffic goes through Google servers, it’s expected to be more consistent as far as the connection then Skype since Google has endless bandwidth and server space. If you’re using an older computer, the PC may suffer poor performance during usage since the application utilizes a lot of resources.  There are no such issues with any recent system, however.

Straying from the path of other video chat products, Google Voice and Video uses a proprietary plug-in instead of Flash. A miniscule download of 2MB supports Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google’s own Chrome on a PC as well as Firefox on a Mac.  Details have not yet been released on support for other platforms, such as Linux, but ports for them may come later. Google Video and Voice made its official public debut at midday on Tuesday, November 18th. Now that Google provides Voice and Video, users have access to a vast array of tools with one login, including email, voice, chat, and soon even SMS. If Google ties in Youtube and Google Docs better in the future, the Google account will be nearly unstoppable.

Google’s Voice and Video is quite simple to use.  When the option is available, a "Video & More" button is shown in the chat messaging window.  Once selected, the plug-in will be installed and immediately accessible for video calls with friends.

AutoImager

With over 150 configurable command-line options, it’s easy to create batch files to automate routine image editing/conversion tasks. You can run the software on a schedule and leave the routine image processing tasks to AutoImager. Entire in-house imaging procedures can also be automated with ease, utilizing the command-line support provided.

Download AutoImager Here
 

Joe Tex from Shareware Junkies has written a review for AutoImager that gives newcomers an idea of what to expect.

"The installation of AutoImager is easy and intuitive, you can place the program files where you want them. The first time you run AutoImager you are informed that you have 15 days to try AutoImager before you must purchase it. Fair enough.

First of all I want you to take a look at this:

Pretty neat, huh? As you can see AutoImager is "Batch are Us" IPlus you can also tell from the screenshot that not only can you process a whole bunch of images at once, you can preview the effects. Take a look at the bottom part of the Screenshot, there you see in the "Apply Filters" section all of the filter effects you can apply. Nice stuff.

Batch Image/Photo Editing Operations:

Add Noise, Anti-Alias, Auto-Trim, Average Bending, Border Remove, Brightness, Buttonize, Color ResolutionColored Gray, Contour, Contrast Crop, Cylindrical, Deskew, Despeckle Dilate, Dot Remove, DPI Resolution, Edge Detector Emboss, Erode, Etch, Flip Gamma Correct, Gaussian Blur, Glow, Gradient Grayscale, Half-Tone, HistoContrast, Hole Punch Remove Hue, Impressionist, Intensity Detect, Invert Invert Text, Laplacian, Line Remove, Line Segment Max Filter, Median, Min Filter, Mirror Mosaic, Motion Blur, Multiply, Oilify Old Photo, Pixelate, Polar, Posterize Prewitt, Punch, Radial Wave, Resample Resize, Ripple, Rotate, Saturation Sharpen, Shear, Smooth, Sobel Solarize, Spherize, Stretch Intensity, Swirl Underlay, Unsharp Mask, Waggle, Wave Wave Shear, Wind, Zoom Blur, Zoom Wave and more!

You can work with and do conversions on these file types AFP, ANI, AWD, BMP, CAL, CGM, CLP, CMP, CMX, CUR, CUT, DGN, DIB, DRW, DWF, DWG, DXF, DWG, EMF, EPS, EXIF, FAX, FLI, FLC, FPX, GBR, GEM, GIF, ICA, ICO, IFF, IMG, ITG, J2K, JBIG, JIF, JPEG, JTF, LBM, MAC, MDA, MPG, MSP, PBM, PCD, PCT, PCX, PDF, PGM, PNM, PPM, PSD, PLT, PLT2, PBM, PCL, PDF, PNG, PTK, RAS, SCT, SGI, SHP, SMP, SUN, SVG, TIFF, TGA, XBM, XPM, XWD, WBMP, WFX, WMF, WPG, and more!

Well if you got this far you are probabaly drooling in delight with how much work AutoImager is going to save you. Plus I’m sure that you are thinking of the things that with AutoImager you can do that you didn’t even think possible before.

Run don’t walk to get AutoImager!"

Graphics

IrfanView

IrfanView is a free, small, and fast image viewer that can handle virtually any image file format (some require additional plugins). It offers an arsenal of image manipulation features (crop, resize, color adjustment, etc.), as well as a multitude of special features usually found only in expensive packages. There are too many to list here, but some of the best features include complete effects (sharpen, blur, etc.), paint capabilities (draw on images), desktop/window capturing, thumbnail viewer/creator, multimedia player, batch conversion (optional image processing), support for Adobe Photoshop filters, and many plugins available to add even more features.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Irfan Skiljan

Internet

AI RoboForm Pro

AI RoboForm is a powerful, yet easy to use password manager and web form filler that automates password management and form filling. It can save passwords, log in to sites automatically, fill long registration and purchase forms with a single click, encrypt passwords for security, generate random passwords, and much more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $29.95 (Free Version Also Available)
• Developer: Siber Systems, Inc.

CuteFTP

CuteFTP is an intuitive application for transferring files between a PC and remote server via the FTP protocol. Features include an easy-to-use interface, connection wizard, automatic-transfer-resume functionality, Turbo Transfer, transfer queue, built-in HTML editor, advanced search capabilities, backup for a local machine to a remote server, directory comparison, custom commands, firewall and proxy support, path bookmarks, and filtered listings.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.99
• Developer: GlobalSCAPE

FeedDemon

FeedDemon is a free, easy-to-use RSS feed reader that makes it quick and convenient to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information. The software is highly customizable, including the way feeds are organized and displayed. Custom news watches based on keywords can be setup, and podcasts can be easily transferred to portable audio devices.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: NewsGator

Group Mail Business Edition

Group Mail Business Edition is a feature-rich, powerful, and flexible email marketing application that allows users to send bulk email with ease. Options are provided to ensure rapid mailing as well as address validation, group merging and purging, backup, Habeas support, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $349.95
• Developer: Infacta Ltd

Mozilla Firefox

Firefox has now become established as an exceptional web browser. Due primarily to its extension capabilities, we highly recommend use of Firefox. In addition to the comprehensive extension support, Firefox also offers fast browsing, browser tabs, pop-up blocking, advanced privacy and security, smart searching, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Mozilla

Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is a free, open source, cross-platform e-mail, newsgroup, and RSS feed client that offers a simple solution for online communication and information retrieval. The software is also highly customizable and expandable via a massive collection of available extensions.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Mozilla

MozyPro

MozyPro is a software/service combination that provides secure, enterprise-level online backup via a highly customizable, powerful, yet easy to use software application.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price:USD $3.95 + $0.50/GB Monthly
• Developer: Mozy, Inc.

NewsBin Pro

NewsBin is a multi-threaded news robot that automatically downloads and decodes binary posts from Usenet newsgroups. The software takes full advantage of high-bandwidth Internet connections with multiple, simultaneous connections to news server(s). NewsBin offers resume functionality to recover from lost connections. It can also reassemble multi-part posts across multiple servers and provides a thumbnail display when downloading images. Additional features available include Internet and local search, built-in RAR file handling, SSL support, NZB message ID file support, and advanced connection management. The settings are a bit daunting, but once configured, it provides the very best solution for binary newsgroup access.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $35.00
• Developer: DJI Interprises, LLC

PocoMail

PocoMail is a powerful email client that offers many useful features, such as strong spam filtering, flexible message editing, and ultra-fast search capabilities. PocoMail’s greatest strengths are PocoScript, the advanced filtering capabilities, events, and Message Templates. PocoScript allows for pre- and post-processing incoming and outgoing mail in virtually any way imaginable. It also store a message in a temporary file for processing by an external application, and notify upon completion. Filtering allows messages to be processing in many different ways based on any defined criteria, such as directed into different folders based on the recipient email address. Message Templates are pre-defined blocks of text that can be quickly and easily inserted into messages via a context menu or hotkey, which is very useful when you have to reply to the same questions a lot of send repetitive bits of information. The text inserted can be customized before sending, of course, to more closely fit any particular case.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.95
• Developer: Poco Systems, Inc.

Trillian Pro

Trillian is a full-featured, skinnable IM client that supports AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, IRC, and Jabber/GTalk (via a plugin). It offers features that are not possible with original network clients, while supporting standard capabilities, such as file transfers, audio chat, group chat, chat rooms, buddy icons, server-side contact importing, typing notification, direct connection (AIM), proxy support, encrypted messaging (AIM/ICQ), SMS support, tabbed chatting, system-tray notifications and alerts, and privacy settings.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $25.00 (Free Version Also Available)
• Developer: Cerulean Studios

Multimedia

AnyDVD

AnyDVD is a Microsoft Windows driver that provides decryption of DVDs on-the-fly, as well as targeted removal of copy prevention and UOP. AnyDVD runs in the background, making discs unrestricted and region-free. In addition to removing digital restrictions, AnyDVD also handles Macrovision analog copy prevention.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: EUR €49.00
• Developer: SlySoft

Blaze Media Pro

Blaze Media Pro is a powerful all-in-one audio and video converter for CD, MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, AVI, WMV, MOV, Flash (SWF and FLV), iPod, PSP, 3GP, etc.; editor; recorder; CD/DVD ripper; audio, video, data CD/DVD burner for DVD, VCD, and SVCD; and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $50.00
• Developer: Mystik Media

ChrisTV PVR Professional

ChrisTV PVR Professional is a highly configurable TV/video capture and PVR application that provides high quality image and sound output. The software supports all TV cards based on the BT8×8, Philips SAA713x, and Conexant CX2388x chipsets as well as TV cards with MPEG hardware encoder functionality. A few of the supported devices include the Hauppauge PVR series, Leadtek PVR2000, and ATI TV Wonder cards, and it also works with Web cams and graphic cards. Features include multi-tuner support, time-shifting, advanced recording settings, advanced scheduler, recording profiles, FM radio support, channel autoscan and fine tuning, support for the DScaler deinterlace DirectShow filter, and zoom functionality. ChrisTV can also broadcast your favorite TV shows, movies, and radio stations to friends through local networks and the Internet. ChrisTV supports MPEG-1/2 and AVI recording (using any audio/video codecs).

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $49.95
• Developer: Chris P.C. srl.

Replay Media Catcher

Replay Media Catcher is a streaming video and audio/music downloader that allows users to easily download virtually any type of online video, including YouTube video. It can also capture streaming MP3 files, automatically name and tag songs and video files, edit and change MP3 tags, extract MP3 tracks from FLV video files, and more. Recording can be performed with a single click.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.95
• Developer: Applian Technologies, Inc.

Replay Video Capture

Replay Video Capture is an easy-to-use screen capture application that creates high-quality videos from anything you can see on your PC screen, including website content, any streaming video protocol, DVDs, Webcam sites, PowerPoint presentations, Skype video conversations, video chat sessions, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $39.95
• Developer: Applian Technologies, Inc.

TMPGEnc Xpress

TMPGEnc XPress offers video conversion for many formats, including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DivX, AVI, QuickTime, MPEG 4-ISO, H.264, DVD-Video, DVD-VR, HDV camcorder, and Blu-ray discs. The powerful software provides features for cutting and extracting video selections as well as video filtering and effects. TMPGEnc XPress will also be among the first video encoders to utilize GPU acceleration.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $99.95
• Developer: Pegasys, Inc.

Productivity

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org is an open source productivity suite that serves as a replacement for Microsoft Office. It contains the same basic feature-set, but saves you hundreds of dollars since it is free. With that being said, OpenOffice.org does not include the grammar checking, macros, and a replacement for Microsoft Outlook. However, it does offer PDF output, Writer macros (Writer’s own macro and scripting feature), smaller file size documents than Microsoft Office, and simplicity. The suite includes Writer (replacement for Word), Calc (replacement for Excel), Impress (replacement for PowerPoint), Base (replacement for Access), Draw (replacement for Visio), and Math (replacement for Equation Editor).

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Sun Microsystems

Utilities

Autoruns

AutoRuns displays the programs that are configured to run during system bootup or login. These programs include those in the startup folder, Services, Run, RunOnce, and other registry keys. Users can highlight a startup item and click the "jump to" button to launch Regedit at the location the selected entry is specified. In addition to startup programs, Autoruns also displays a list of Services, scheduled tasks, Winsock providers, Internet Explorer BHOs, and more that can all be enabled/disabled with ease. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are both available.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Microsoft Corporation

CCleaner

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy, and cleaning tool that removes unused files from your system, which allowing Windows to run faster and frees up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities, such as Internet history. Additionally, it contains a full-featured registry cleaner. The tool is fast and easy to use.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Piriform, Ltd.

CPU-Z

CPU-Z is a handy tool that provides quick, convenient access to a load of information about your system. Information available includes CPU details (name and model, core stepping and process, package, core voltage, internal and external clocks and clock multiplier, supported instruction sets, cache information), motherboard details (vendor, model, and revision, BIOS model and date, northbridge and southbridge chipset and sensor, graphic interface), memory (frequency and timings, module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect): vendor, serial number, timings table), system (Windows and DirectX versions), and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: CPUID

Dependency Walker

Dependency Walker is a free utility that scans any 32-bit or 64-bit Windows module (exe, dll, ocx, scr, sys, etc.) and displays all of its dependent modules. For each dependency located, the application lists all the functions that are exported by that module, and which of those functions are actually being called by other modules. Another view displays the minimum set of required files, along with detailed information about each file including a full path to the file, base address, version numbers, machine type, debug information, and more. Dependency Walker is very useful for troubleshooting applications that will not start or system errors related to loading and executing modules. Dependency Walker detects many common application problems such as missing DLLs, invalid modules, import/export mismatches, etc.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Steve P. Miller

Directory Opus

Directory Opus (DOpus) is an extremely powerful and highly customizable file manager application that features single or dual-panel display, folder tree (either shared or two separate for dual-display), tabbed explorer panels, built-in ZIP and RAR processing (browse files as if they were folders), built-in FTP support (can be browsed in the same fashion as local folders), built-in image viewer, comprehensive file selection and renaming tools (with advanced regex support), configurable toolbars, menus, file types, and file type groups, preview panel and thumbnail previews (including video), and file collections (virtual folders that contain links to the original files, but allow direct access to the source files. Directory Opus can replace Windows Explorer, including Windows shell connections.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: AUD $85.00
• Developer: GPSoftware

EVEREST Ultimate Edition

EVEREST Ultimate Edition is an advanced benchmarking and diagnostics tool that helps users maximize security, performance, and trouble-shooting capabilities for home and home office PC environments, PC Professionals, and consulting firms. It offers comprehensive system information as well as system stability testing and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $34.95
• Developer: Lavalys Consulting Group, Inc.

Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is a free, light-weight PDF reader that is quick to load and easy to use, without sacrificing features. Foxit Reader offers annotations, text conversion, privacy and security options, bookmarking, multi-tab support, callouts and text boxes, commenting, rulers and guides, magnifier, automatic scrolling, and more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Foxit Software Company, LLC.

HWMonitor

HWMonitor is a handy tool that provides comprehensive information and monitoring for the CPU, motherboard, video card, memory modules, hard drives, and more. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are both available.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: CPUID

Process Explorer

Process Explorer is a free Windows Task Manager replacement that offers features above and beyond the standard Windows utility. It can be set to show much more information about running processes, such as start time, file version, window title, the .dll’s they have loaded, highlighting (such as for distinguishing services), and much more.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Remind-Me

Remind-Me is a simple, easy-to-use tool that is designed to store and present reminders of important events before they pass. Remind-Me handles holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, and any custom event (one-time or reoccurring). The software’s interface is shown in the form of a list or traditional calendar. Reminders can be shown when the computer starts or any pre-defined time. Remind-Me can play a custom sound or send email when a scheduled time is reached. The program is customizable to function the way the user wants. The program minimizes to the system tray so that it functions constantly, out of the way.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $24.95
• Developer: Beiley Software, Inc.

TweakUI

Tweak UI is a free user interface customization application released by Microsoft to help with customizing the Windows operating system. Although it is not supported by Microsoft, Tweak UI offers a more convenient way to adjust settings that would otherwise require manual registry editing. Most significantly, the software enables users with older, slower systems to turn off components of the operating system, such as menu fading, drop shadows, and cursor shadows to improve performance. Tweak UI also includes many features for customizing the way various aspects of the Windows interface function, such as the taskbar, desktop, and start menu. The program also allows users to move the location of special folders in Windows, such as My Documents, Music, and Pictures, as well as other system folders. It also offers tools that help users repair components of the Windows operating system, such as icons, hotkeys, the font folder, and file extension associations. Tweak UI can be used to disable AutoPlay on one or more drives as well. Tweak UI provides the capability to set up Xmouse for those familiar with the X Window System.  Note:  This tool is for use with Windows XP.  It is not designed for Windows Vista.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: Free
• Developer: Microsoft Corporation

Type Pilot

Type Pilot is a simple tool that helps users input frequently used text quickly and easily via a pre-defined trigger word. Once the trigger word is typed, Type Pilot automatically replaces it with the corresponding phrase or paragraph. Type Pilot is useful for writing standard phrases, such as signatures, email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, addresses, frequently used sentences, letter templates, etc. The program will work with any text editor. The software’s tree-like interface structure makes it easy to keep information organized.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $29.95
• Developer: Two Pilots

VMWare Workstation

VMware Workstation is a virtual machine software suite for x86 and x86-64 based computers that allows users to setup multiple x86 and x86-64 virtual computers for application usage, software testing, or any other operation where it is practical to have a fresh system to use or a system at a certain state. Each virtual machine can be configured with its own guest operating system, hardware components, disk space, RAM capacity, etc. In short, VMware Workstation allows one physical machine to run multiple operating systems simultaneously with any desired hardware configurations and software installed. It is also easy to revert a virtual machine back to a previously saved state.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $189.00
• Developer: VMware, Inc.

Web Development

Adobe Dreamweaver

Adobe Dreamweaver is an industry-leading web development tool that provides users with an intuitive interface for web page design and maintenance, but also allows access to advanced features and the latest technologies for those that want to utilize them.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $399.00
• Developer: Adobe Systems, Inc.

HTML Search and Replace

HTML Search and Replace is a handy, powerful tool for webmasters (or anyone that needs search and replace functionality within text files of any format) that offers advanced search capabilities and the option to replace any amount of text in multiple documents with ease. Folders can be processed, with or without subfolders included. The software includes a built-in offline browser for previewing files before and after adjustments and an internal editor with HTML syntax highlighting.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $19.00
• Developer: Alentum Software, Inc.

Web Site Promotion

Advanced Web Ranking

Advanced Web Ranking is a search engine keyword ranking, analyzing, and research tool that helps web site owners determine current rankings for any number of web sites. The software also functions as a link popularity analyzer, assists with manual submission to over 400 search engines, and helps users find relevant link partners.

• Website: Visit Official Site
• Price: USD $199.00
• Developer: Caphyon, Ltd.

Gadget Advisor is proud to offer the free Google Cache Checker extension for Firefox.  The extension is lightweight, and high performance, residing conveniently in the statusbar.  It displays a checkmark icon if the current page is Google cached. If it is not, the extension displays a red X.  This makes it very quick and convenient to see if a page is Google indexed. For example, if you’re visiting a directory to see about submitting, you can see if the page you’re going to be submitting into is indexed. Or, pages for advertising, etc.

If you would like to post about the Google Cache Checker extension, please do not host the extension file on another server.  Instead, link to this page for downloading.

Download the Extension Here (original version for best performance)
Download the Extension Here (version that features cache date on tooltip)

Whether you’re a long-time web directory submitter, or just getting started, web directory submission can be a benefit for any business’ web site (or any web site, for that matter).

While we highly recommend AI RoboForm for any other task, it can be frustrating to setup and inadequate (especially for deep links) for web directory submission.  This extension is specifically designed for web directory submission.  It saves enormous amounts of time by quickly and easily completing web directory form submissions with a single click (no typing required).  The extension also features convenient submission management via a sidebar submitters can use to stay organized.  When you come to a new directory, add it to the sidebar, and mark your submissions as complete as you go.  The extension is proven to be a massive time-saver, and helps tremendously in staying organized. Main title rotation, category support, and category filtering are all supported. The extension fully supports deep links, with deep link title rotation as well as cycling of deep links to prevent the same ones being used on forms with less fields than the number of deep links entered.  If you come to a form that is not properly detected, simply right click in the text fields to assign the correct values.  Those definitions will be remembered for future submission to the directory.

Although this demonstration is not up-to-date with the very latest version of the form filler extension, it does provide an excellent guide for getting started and usage.  If you should have any questions/comments or need help, do not hesitate to let us know.
 

Download the Extension Here

We have compiled a list of what we consider to be the best extensions for Firefox. When evaluating extensions for recommendation, not only do we consder the functionality and features of the extension, but we also test to ensure it works well with all the other extensions we recommend. This has been a lengthy evaluation in which we have taken great care to recommend high quality extensions that serve a useful purpose. The recommended extensions will also be updated on an ongoing basis. Therefore, be sure to check back for updates periodically.

Adblock Plus

Adblock Plus does an exceptional job of blocking ads and annoying content in pages. It is very customizable and can also easily eliminate any desired elements of a page on command. A complete subscription-based, automatic update solution is available for the block list, free of charge, as well as the ability to setup custom block lists. The only downside about Adblock Plus is that on occassion, it can also result in a page not displaying as designed, often ommitting necessary content. However, it is easy to either disable Adblock Plus temporarily or set it to always be disabled on certain sites only.

• Download Extension

Adsense Notifier

If you operate one or more web sites, chances are that you are currently or have in the past used AdSense for web site revenue. If you’re currently using AdSense, the Adsense Notifier extension is very handy. It provides quick, convenient access to the revenue for the date range of interest. It can be set to show the revenue for the follow ranges: Today, Past 7 Days, This Month, All Time, Yesterday, Two Days Ago, Last Month, This week, Last Week, Last Business Week, and Since Last Payment.

• Download Adsense Notifier

AI RoboForm

As we have mentioned before, we’re big fans of AI RoboForm. If you use RoboForm for web form filling, site logins, and/or password management, be sure to use the extension for Firefox.

• Download AI RoboForm

Always Remember Password

By default, when a web site instructs the browser to never allow a password manager to retain the login information, Firefox will honor this. However, if your PC is not accessible to others, it can be very handy to have these passwords saved. This extension will enable passwords to be saved on any site, including Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and banking sites. Note: This extension was not updated for later versions of Firefox by the author. We have modified the extension so that it will work flawlessly with the current version of Firefox.

• Download Always Remember Password ( modified version )

AutoAuth

When your password has been saved for a HTTP authentication dialog, using this extension will cause the login to occur automatically, without you have to click the OK button on the dialog.

• Download AutoAuth

Converter

The Converter Firefox extension offers unit conversion from any page. For example, if a page contains the text "15 m", you can select it, and right click. It will show the length in yards and feet. The extension supports a wide range of unit conversions.

• Download Converter

Copy Link Text

When you right click a link in Firefox, it shows an option called "Copy Link Location", which is very handy for copying the URL of a link. Likewise, the Copy Link Text extension adds an option called Copy Link Text. When you right click a link, and select the option, the anchor text of that link is copied to the clipboard. This is a quicker method than selecting the text and then copying, plus it works on sites that block copying normally.

• Download Copy Link Text

Download Statusbar

Instead of showing a dialog for your downloads, this extension includes downloads conveniently in the Firefox statusbar. Downloads can be easily paused/resumed; double click a download to run it; right click for an option to open the containing folder; download speed display; and much more. The extension’s options also provide the ability to automatically clear files of certain extensions from the bar to keep it tidy, such as files that open automatically.

• Download Extension

ErrorZilla Mod

We have not been using this extension for very long, and do not have a lot of experience with it yet, but what we have seen of it seems quite handy. When a page fails to load in Firefox, ErrorZilla Mod will show options for "Try Again," "Google Cache," "Coralize," "Wayback," "Ping," "Trace," and "Whois", which can be used to gain access to the page, even with the site down or access information about the site.

• Download ErrorZilla Mod

Fireshot

The Fireshot extension makes taking a screen shot of a web page a snap. Even if entire page is not visible, Fireshot can still capture the entire page. If you prefer, it can also capture just the visible area of a page. With a single click, Fireshot can capture the page and upload, copy, mail, print, or open the file for editing (in the internal editor or an external editor of choice). The internal editor provides the ability to add shapes, pointers, text, another image, or draw on the image.

• Download Fireshot

Flagfox

The Flagfox extension shows a flag icon for the country in which the current web site is hosted in the statusbar or address bar. A tooltip is provided that also offers the name of the country, in case the flag is not familiar. The extension uses an IP address database rather than relying on the top-level domain. When the flag icon is clicked, GeoTool will be loaded, which provides a location map, as well as information on the ISP, city, IP address, local time, country code, region, postal code, and more.

• Download Flagfox

Google Cache Checker

The Google Cache Checker Firefox extension automatically checks visited pages to determine if the current page is Google cached. The result is immediately shown conveniently in the browser statusbar. This extension is available exclusively from Gadget Advisor.

• Download Google Cache Checker

Highlander

When you click a link to a URL that’s already open in another Firefox tab, the Highlander extension will cause the already opened tab to be focused, rather than duplicating the URL in a new tab.

• Download Highlander

IE View Lite

The IE View Lite extension provides a context menu item for opening the current page in IE. The extension also has the ability to enter sites that will always open in IE. It can close the tabs for pages being opened in IE automatically, and send any additional parameters to the of the page to the Internet Explorer EXE. As much as we like Firefox, every once in a while, we run into a page that will not work properly in Firefox, which makes this extension handy.

• Download IE View Lite

Navigational Sounds

When this extension is enabled, Firefox will play the Windows OS start and end navigation sounds when pages start and finish loading (the "click" from IE when a page navigation begins).

• Download Navigational Sounds

Nightly Tester Tools

We recommend this extension only for those who are experienced or desperate. If you’ve been using Firefox for a while and use a number of extensions, you have no doubt experienced the anguish of an extension no longer working after a Firefox update. Even worse is when the extension’s developer decides not to update it anymore. This extension can be used to force extensions to work with the new Firefox version. Most extensions will work normally with minor Firefox updates (some even work properly after major version upgrades), and you can always disable an extension again if needed. However, we do recommend being careful when using this extension, nonetheless.

• Download Nightly Tester Tools

Oldbar

For those who dislike the new "AwesomeBar" introduced with Firefox 3, the oldbar extension will cause Firefox to maintain the familiar address bar from earlier versions of Firefox. The browser will still benefit from the enhanced autocomplete algorithm of Firefox 3, but with the appearance of Firefox 2.

• Download Oldbar

OpenBook

The OpenBook Firefox extension provides customization for the Add Bookmark dialog, including the ability to automatically open the bookmarks tree and resize the Add Bookmark dialog.

• Download OpenBook

SearchStatus

The SearchStatus extension provides extensive search-related information about visited web sites, including Google PageRank, Google Category, Alexa popularity ranking, Compete.com ranking, Alexa incoming links, Alexa related links, and backward links from Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The key information is all presented conveniently in one discreet and compact area, with the remaining data available via a right-click. The information displayed is also customizable. For example, if the Compete.com ranking is not inportant to you, it can be easily disabled, thus making more room available.

• Download SearchStatus

Tab Mix Plus

Tab Mix Plus is a very robust extension that enhances Firefox’s tab browsing functionality. It provides options for controlling tab focus, link opening, many new tab display capabilities, tab clicking behavior, undo closed tabs and windows (as well as a list of previously closed tabs), advanced session management, and much more.

• Download Tab Mix Plus

Text Link

The Text Link extension enables URLs that are not linked on web pages to be easily launched via a double click. Settings are also provided that enable URLs to be executed with different key and/or mouse combinations.

• Download Text Link

WeatherBug

The WeatherBug extension provides quick access to local weather conditions and forecasts. Icons representing forecast are shown in the statusbar, and more information is available via tooltips for the icons. The current temperature (or other information) can also be shown directly on the statusbar. The data presented as well as its placement is highly configurable.

• Download WeatherBug

Web Directory Form Filler

The Web Directory Form Filler is a web form filling extension that is similar in functionality to AI RoboForm, except that it is designed specifically for use in submitting to web directories. It is feature-rich and easy to use. The extension features title rotation, deep link support, and even deep link title rotation. The sidebar also provides exceptional submission management.

• We are making this extension available free here exclusively

OpenOffice.org 3.0 can import Office 2007 OOXML files that have extensions such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx.  OpenOffice.org does not yet feature the ability to save into these, though.  Therefore, users will need to save into another supported format.

The writer component of the suite can now display multiple pages side-by-side, and the Calc spreadsheets component supports as many as 1024 columns (up from the previously supported 256). The Impress presentation component has also been updated with the ability to insert tables with ease. Performance is not among the improvements the suite can claim, however, as the new 3.0 release is the same in that area, if not a little slower.

The new version offers numerous new features, including the Opera Link tool, which synchronizes browser bookmarks and options among different computers and/or operating systems, as well as visual previews for RSS feeds.  The email client boasts a new highly optimized "low bandwidth mode" and message prioritizing.

Opera’s speed has also been increased from the previous version, offering an experience similar to that of Firefox 3, Google Chrome, and Internet Explorer 8 beta.  Opera 9.6 can be downloaded here.

The MPAA filed a suit against RealNetworks alleging violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and breach of contract in an effort to prevent the selling of RealDVD.  A judge has now ordered RealNetworks to cease selling RealDVD until the case has been reviewed.

"The installation of Blaze Media Pro is easy and intuitive, you can place the program files where you want them.

It has been awhile since we have done a review of Blaze Media Pro and WOW what a change! Now Blaze Media Pro does everything but wash the dishes.

…

Can you believe it? Simply amazing is what I have to say. With Blaze Media Pro I’ve been able to save lots of money because it does so many things. For instance I was just going to go out and look for a good program for burning CD/DVDs and as I’m sure you are aware most of the top names in that business are bloatware and cost lots more than Blaze Media Pro.

Don’t get the idea though that Blaze Media Pro because it does all of these things isn’t sophisticated, for instance I have on my computer some high end studio recording hardware. Windows recording software won’t find it, and it took me half an hour to get Adobe Audition to find it and it then took a reboot to use it. Blaze Media Pro found it right away and it was ready to go. It even has a built in Audio Tag editor!

If there something in the Audio/Video field that Blaze Media Pro doesn’t do and do well I sure don’t know what it is.

In conclusion run don’t walk to the Blaze Media Pro website and download it.  I guarantee you will like it."

Although the new browser is not yet as feature-rich as other browsers on the market, it does offer superior speed and a few unique touches.  Google Chrome will definitely be a browser to watch going forward as it matures.  Unfortunately for Google, shortly after the release, it was reported that the browser has security vulnerabilities.  It’s not entirely unexpected with a new product since both Internet Explorer and Firefox have ongoing vulnerability issues, but I’m sure that’s not what Google was hoping to hear about on the same day the browser launched.

Google Chrome can be downloaded here for those interested in checking it out.