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Outdated updates

Occasionally we'll be in the middle of doing something with a seldom-used program and will be interrupted--always when we're in a hurry, of course--by a software update that must be downloaded before we can proceed. We love the idea of a program that will let us check for and download updates for all our programs at once, and that's what Update Notifier attempts to do. Unfortunately, this program works better in theory than in practice.

Update Notifier's interface is pretty easy to understand; there are three tabs that list up-to-date programs, programs on the watch list (… Read more

Disk-cleaning screensaver

Defragmenting your hard disk has always been a good idea, but now it's easier than ever, thanks to utilities like Auslogics Disk Defrag Screen Saver. It automatically defragments your disk when your system is idle, which helps keep your data from becoming fragmented in the first place. Not only that, but it also sports a cool, updated version of the old Windows defragmentation map that tracks the tool's progress in real time.

Disk Defrag Screen Saver shows up in your list of screensavers after installation, and you select it like any other. There's a Settings dialog with … Read more

Movies on demand

There's no doubt that Netflix revolutionized the entertainment biz with its online service for renting movies. The company is fixing to continue its entertainment coup on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch with a free app that we've got to say is so far a joy to use.

Its straightforward design starts off with a home screen that shows off fun, featured content like "goofy crime comedies" and "dark dramas based on contemporary literature." Of course you can also browse for flicks and shows by more typical genres, like Action and Television. The app … Read more

Name that tune

If you're having trouble naming that tune, just fire up SoundHound to speak, sing, hum, type, or record a song for the music-identification service to identify. It will return a song, complete with artist bios, video links, and links to an online music store. SoundHound will also, crucially, pull in song lyrics where available or link you to a lyrics search where they're not. Trend charts show you how popular a song is vis a vis the publisher's online and mobile network, and you can see which songs other users have identified. A free version of SoundHound … Read more

Decimal placer

Tvalx specializes in mathematical software; its Scientific Calculator Decimal is essentially a virtual version of the classic handheld scientific calculator optimized for calculating decimals. It's suitable for everyone from math students to scientists and engineers. It's precise up to 30 digits and includes trigonometric, hyperbolic, and inverse functions.

As with other calculating tools from Tvalx, Scientific Calculator Decimal has a clean, efficient, attractive layout that's largely based on the functional design of handheld scientific calculators, though you can customize the look, too. The layout strikes a good balance between busy and clean. File, Edit, Tools, and Help … Read more

Get it straight

Not infrequently we see friends and family members sharing photos online that are sideways, often with the disclaimer, "Sorry, I don't know how to rotate it." If you're one of these orientation-challenged people--or if you're just looking for an easy way to rotate many photos at once--try Batch JPEG Rotator. This simple program doesn't do much, but it does make it extremely easy to rotate your digital images.

The program's interface is sleek and intuitive. A large open work area dominates the interface, with a menu down the side giving users access to … Read more

Simple sudoku

Sudoku is an addictive number puzzle that challenges users to fill in the missing numbers based on the numbers that are present; each of nine grids must contain the numbers one through nine once, as must each row and column of the playing board. The premise is simple, but the game can be quite a challenge. Sudoku Portable is a lightweight version of this popular puzzle that's made to be used on USB drives and other portable devices (although it works just fine installed on a PC). It's not fancy, but it does deliver the fun--and frustration--of traditional … Read more

Chrome polish

Google is polishing its Chrome browser with the help of open-source extensions similar to the add-ons that have made Mozilla's Firefox the Web browser to beat when it comes to versatility and options. Lex1's AdBlock+ Element Hiding Helper is a good example. As the name suggests, it blocks various kinds of animated elements, typically advertising, in Google's Chrome. If you haven't tried Chrome yet, here's your chance, and you can do worse than to make AdBlock+ one of your first extensions.

AdBlock+ is easy to use, with a few simple keystroke combinations controlling all the … Read more

Photos without fears

You're a photographer, and your images are your livelihood. Or you've meticulously scanned and saved all the family photos and want to simultaneously preserve and display them. Or maybe you just don't like strange things happening to your files without your permission or even knowledge, such as your images being resized, their resolutions changed, or image information discarded. For these and other reasons, you may want to give JMC Photo Gallery a try. It's similar to other gallery software, including Microsoft's, but it uses newer technologies like WPF (Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0). It promises &… Read more

Browser-based file sharing

BitTorrent technology has become one of the most popular ways for people to share large files, including all types of media and software. Instead of waiting for a file to download from one user to another, BitTorrent allows users to download pieces of files from multiple users, and at the same time upload the parts they've already downloaded. The more people are sharing a particular file, the faster it downloads. Not surprisingly, this type of file-sharing has grown tremendously over the past several years. Torrent2exe is an add-on for Chrome that makes downloading BitTorrents easier than ever.

Torrent2exe is … Read more