Software

Slash your long-distance bills

Getting in touch with friends and family is easy with this Internet telephone software, but the functionality is conditional. Skype offers a graphically pleasing interface that's much like a chat program. To make calls, you'll need to create a contact list of friends and family or use the phone-like interface to dial people directly. You also can access a pull-down menu for painless conference calls of up to four people. To make free calls, both parties will need to have the Skype software installed. To call regular phones, you'll need to sign up for a plan with … Read more

Just push it

We appreciate the way programmers are always looking out for us, popping up dialog boxes to make sure we really, really want to delete that file or reformat that drive. Still, most dialogs are a pain. They're always asking the same questions, getting the same answers. Luckily, there's PTFB (Push The Freakin' Button) Pro, a simple but fiendishly useful little macro program. Tell it which dialogs to watch out for and which buttons to push when they appear. Next time one does, PTFB Pro, well, pushes the freakin' button. PTFB Pro provides several fine-tuning options, including a delay … Read more

Just push it

We appreciate how programmers look out for us, popping up dialogs when we're about to do something we might later regret. "Are you really, really sure you want to reformat your C drive?" Still, most dialogs are a pain. They're always asking the same questions, getting the same answers. Luckily, there's Push the Freakin Button Pro, a simple but fiendishly useful little macro program. Tell it which dialogs to watch out for and which buttons to push when they appear. Next time one does, Push the Freakin' Button, well, pushes the freakin' button. PTFBPro provides … Read more

Slash your long-distance bills

In some ways, Skype's latest offering takes a step back, but in many, it's a jump forward. In version 4.0, Skype's VoIP app for text, audio, and video calls refocuses on Skype's core competency (and most formidable challenge) of delivering high-quality audio and video calls over the Internet. A new sound engine and bandwidth manager helps keep calls clearer and more stable as talkers reach out across the world, using the spectrum of high- and low-end equipment. The improved sound and video quality were notable in our tests.

Many of Skype's secondary features remain … Read more

Just push it

We appreciate how programmers look out for us, popping up dialogs when we're about to do something we might later regret. "Are you really, really sure you want to reformat your C drive?" Even so, most dialogs are a pain. They're always asking the same questions, getting the same answers. Luckily, there's Push the Freakin Button Pro, a simple but fiendishly useful little macro program. Tell it which dialogs to watch out for and which buttons to push when they appear. Next time one does, Push the Freakin' Button, well, pushes the freakin' button. PTFBPro … Read more

Just push it

We appreciate how programmers look out for us, popping up dialogs when we're about to do something we might later regret. "Are you really, really sure you want to reformat your C drive?" Even so, most dialogs are a pain. They're always asking the same questions, getting the same answers. Luckily, there's Push the Freakin Button Pro, a simple but fiendishly useful little macro program. Tell it which dialogs to watch out for and which buttons to push when they appear. Next time one does, Push the Freakin' Button, well, pushes the freakin' button. PTFBPro … Read more

Bring a waterfall to your desktop

This screensaver features a septet of beautiful, cascading waterfalls, complete with the appropriate sound effects. To the developer's credit, the animated image is quite convincing, though the combination of music with the sound of water isn't always complementary. You can determine the amount of time between scene swaps, change the speed of the animation, enable transition effects, and disable the sound effects. It's great that the program now lets you view seven unique and attractive waterfall scenes, but the demo is now a 15-day trial rather than freeware. Regardless, AllWaterfallSaver is a perfectly pleasant screensaver for nature … Read more