1.5

ChromePlus from Maple Studio is exactly what it sounds like: Google Chrome, plus a bunch of useful extras. Like Chrome, ChromePlus is free, and everything Chrome does, it does. The "plus" part adds Mouse Gestures, Super Drag, a Download Manager, enhanced bookmarks, an IE tab, and more.

The ChromePlus installer automatically checked for the latest version of the program; it also advised us to close Firefox so it could import bookmarks and other settings from Mozilla, just like when installing Chrome. ChromePlus happily coexists with Chrome on the same desktop; we had both open at the same time … Read more

Barnes & Noble has begun rolling out an updated version of its Nook firmware to those who own its e-ink e-readers. Considered a major update, the company says that version 1.5 of the firmware "will dramatically increase" the page-turn speeds of the Nook 3G and Nook Wi-Fi and deliver additional feature and performance enhancements.

While the user interface has largely stayed the same, search functionality on the device has improved, password protection has been added, and you can now organize your library into categories or "shelves," as they're called on the Nook. Also, the … Read more

Endless Slideshow Screensaver from Extreme Internet Software is a free slideshow screensaver that automatically searches for new desktop wallpaper online, downloads it, and displays it in your slideshow queue, so you always have new pictures to see. You can select categories for the program to search for, such as Nature, Animals, Cars, Girls, Men, or Cartoons. While the concept is interesting, we're not sure about the execution.

We installed Endless Slideshow Screensaver, opened its Settings dialog, and deselected all of the categories except one, Space. We clicked Preview, and the program opened and started downloading images, which it displayed … Read more

Barnes & Noble announced today that it will be rolling out a major firmware update for its Nook e-Book readers in late November, calling it the biggest update yet since the Nook was launched a year ago. The company says that version 1.5 of the firmware "will dramatically increase" the page-turn speeds of the Nook 3G and Nook Wi-Fi and deliver additional feature and performance enhancements.

While Barnes & Noble didn't give much in the way of details, it did say that search on the device would be improved, and new features such as customizable library … Read more

After years of using Windows, most people find that Windows Explorer and its hierarchical folders is a pretty intuitive way to organize and accessing files. For those users interested in trying something different, however, there's Circle Dock 32bit. This attractive desktop enhancement lets users arrange files in circular orbits, a novel and potentially very useful way to organize things.

The program's interface is attractive, consisting of a light blue ring with a bubble-like graphic in the middle. Right-clicking on this graphic brought up a menu with a variety of options, and at that point we decided that we … Read more

PDF files are a part of just about everybody's life now, but many people don't have applications that are capable of doing much with these files besides viewing them. Quick PDF Tools is a small suite of utilities that lets users do more with their PDF files than just look at them. It's not the most feature-filled program we've ever seen, but it's not a bad choice if you're looking to perform a few basic tasks with your PDFs.

The program appears in the Windows context menu, so all you have to do is … Read more

Owners of Seagate's FreeAgent GoFlex Pro who've been wishing the portable hard drive came with USB 3.0 rather than merely USB 2.0 just got their wish.

Seagate announced today a new portable drive in its FreeAgent GoFlex family, the 1.5TB GoFlex Ultra-portable. The drive not only comes with USB 3.0 standard but boasts 1.5TB of storage, making it what appears to be the largest single-volume portable external hard drive currently on the market.

Other than the amount of storage, the new drive has the same superflexible design as the GoFlex Pro, meaning it can be used with any type of connection--be it USB, FireWire, or eSATA--merely by swapping out the adapters.

The GoFlex Ultra-portable comes with a USB 3.0 adapter, while the GoFlex Pro comes with a USB 2.0 adapter. These two adapters, like all GoFlex adapters, can be used interchangeably.

Note, however, that while the GoFlex Pro supports USB 3.0 too, you'll need to buy a separate adapter that costs around $40. Notably, the GoFlex Ultra-portable is the first portable external drive in the GoFlex family to support USB 3.0 out of the box.… Read more

New document file formats are always cropping up, and on the whole that's a good thing; specialized formats reflect evolving technology. The only real drawback is that in order to make use of these new formats, you often need viewers or players that you don't already have. And who wants a hard drive crammed with software that can only do one thing? STDU Viewer attempts to solve this problem by letting you view a variety of file formats all in one simple program.

STDU Viewer's interface is plain and looks a lot like other document viewers, with … Read more

Many people prefer to use big, full-featured photo-editing programs like Photoshop, but for others, those sorts of programs can be overwhelming and way too complex. Fotografix is a basic image editor that gives users a few advanced features, like the capability to work with layers, but that is generally geared toward the casual user.

The program's interface is quite plain, reminding us a lot of Microsoft Paint. Menus across the top and a toolbar down the left side give users access to the program's features. We appreciated the fact that the program employs a fairly standard set of … Read more