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The Outlook for Google Docs is Harmonie

Google Docs untethers business users, and Microsoft Outlook anchors the business world; when they meet, they make harmony. Or, more precisely, Harmonie makes them: it's a free add-in from Mainsoft that brings easy access to your Google Docs from inside Outlook. You can edit, export, organize, star, hide, share, and search for documents from Outlook, and drag documents directly into the Harmonie for Google Docs sidebar to automatically upload them to your free Google Docs account. You can even share documents with selected contacts in your Outlook and Gmail address books, and recipients can view and edit the documents … Read more

Space maker

It's always a terrible feeling when you realize that you're about to run out of room on your hard drive, and it's even worse when you have no idea what's taking up all that space. WinDirStat Portable is a lightweight program that lets users quickly identify the biggest space hogs on their machines and then take action to tidy things up.

The program's interface is plain and utilitarian. When the program is launched, a dialog box asks users to select the drives or folders they want to analyze. The program then scans the selected locations … Read more

Power booster

For PC users, "new computer speed" is like "that new car smell," but how would you feel if your car got slower and slower every time you drove it? Savvy gamers, road warriors, and tech types know the trick of shutting down unneeded stuff to reclaim some of your system's performance, but it's cumbersome at best and too intimidating for most casual users, who are, ironically, the ones who need it the most. Enter AppBooster from Mobile Concepts. It shuts down unneeded applications, processes, services, and Windows Features running on your PC and returns … Read more

Lickety-split

When files are too big to transfer efficiently, people often turn to compressed file formats, like ZIP, to make the files more manageable. Another option, however, is to split files into multiple pieces. WinMend File Splitter is an easy-to-use program that lets users do exactly that, as well as reassemble files that have been split. It may not be the best option for everyone, but those who are interested in file splitting should find that it meets their needs just fine.

The program's interface is attractive and easy to navigate, with its two major features--splitting and merging--arranged in separate … Read more

Locked up

Ever since our teenage years, when we had folders full of journals and unsent love letters, we've wished for a way to password-protect folders on our computer. Third-party software is really the only way to do this, and Sofonica Folder Soldier is one such option. Although the program works, we have definitely seen similar programs that we like better.

The program's interface is plain and fairly intuitive, which is a good thing, because there's no Help file. When the program is first launched, users are asked to select a password; this is the password used to access … Read more

Better cleaner

The Web Atom's CCleaner Enhancer adds support for more than 270 programs to CCleaner, the popular system and Registry-cleaning tool from Piriform. CCleaner Enhancer adds rules and definitions sourced from the Piriform Support Forum and other online resources to CCleaner's built-in WinApp2.ini system. When you run CCleaner again, the new programs are automatically included and ready to be selected for scanning.

We downloaded and ran the latest version of CCleaner prior to installing CCleaner Enhancer, to better gauge the additional effects. CCleaner Enhancer first asks to check for updates, which is usually wise. We ran CCleaner's … Read more

Pics plus place equals geotagging

Pictomio is freeware for displaying and managing digital images, photos, and videos, including 3D-accelerated images. It does slideshows, edits EXIF information, creates albums, and facilitates uploading and downloading images to Web sites like Flickr and YouTube. What sets it apart from the crowd is geotagging, the ability to attach geographical data to digital photos. The built-in PictoGEO add-on gives Pictomio GPS compatibility, including a GPS import wizard; a 3D trip display that includes waypoints, tracklogs, and routes; direct support for GPS tracksticks; manual geotagging (optionally stored as EXIF data); and built-in trip planning and management features.

Pictomio's setup wizard … Read more

Highly logical

Karnaugh maps are graphical tools used to simplify or minimize Boolean expressions by taking advantage of human pattern recognition capabilities to drastically reduce what would otherwise be complex calculations. They're used by engineers and academics for applications ranging from designing digital devices to working with formal logic expressions. Logic Minimizer from Vikhetan Appa is a unique Windows application for step-by-step simplification of Karnaugh maps, but its full complement of features makes its suitable for working with all forms of logic expressions.

Logic Minimizer's efficient interface sports specialized icons in the toolbar as well as its unique graphical depictions … Read more

Desktop designer

Although some people are completely satisfied with the default Windows desktop interface, for others, customization is a must. Rainmeter (32-bit) is an attractive way to view system performance and a variety of other useful information--e-mail, weather, RSS feeds, and much more--right on the desktop. Casual users should beware, however; although it's not difficult to get started with Rainmeter, learning to fully utilize its features will take some time and geekery.

The program comes with two different themes, Enigma and Gnometer. Both of these are modular, transparent, and highly customizable. There is a wide variety of other themes around the … Read more

Semifunctional Facebook

Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family, and the site's chat feature makes it possible for users to talk to everyone from their third-grade best friend to their spouse, all in real-time. Unfortunately, using Facebook's chat keeps you tethered to the window or tab in which you have Facebook open. Facebook Chat, a browser extension for Chrome, endeavors to change that. And it succeeds, at least partially.

The extension sounded promising. By simply clicking the small icon it places next to Chrome's address bar, users can bring up a version of … Read more