Nov 24 2008
The Best Software Ever Blog!
In my opinion of course. 
- I think the title sums it up so I will just get started with my list of favorites! I will however note that this list does not include my pc security favorites which are in my PC Repair Blog
I’ll start with functionality:
Screen Hunter 5 I’ve recently discovered Screen Hunter 5 as a great screen capture utility. I’ve not yet had time to play with all the features of it, but it was a quick download and did exactly what I needed it to do.
CDBurnerXP Burns Data Discs, Audio Discs, Even Iso Images which I love! Easy to use and has the drag and drop feature, just drag the file you want in there and click “burn”. I’ve used CDBurnerXP for years and I swear by it.
Peer Guardian 2 It’s an IP blocker. I have it. I use it. Who’s to say if it works or not. I got it after I read very good things about it in a couple of reputable places - so lets just say it works.
Roboform 6.9.9 Are you a form filler? Do you sign up for a lot of things? Roboform 6.9.9 will do this for you. Just download, put all your information in and then click a button on your tool bar. It will automatically fill in all the applicable forms on your page. There is a pro version which you can purchase but your free version never runs out. You just get to choose a few extra customizable forms with the pro version. Also you get 2 identities with the free version - which is a big help as well. When not filling stuff out however you may want to disable it or go under “view” in your toolbar and uncheck it so that it doesn’t continually ask you if you “if it can be of assistance”.
Picasa 3 Pictures - like many of the other things listed here I have sworn by Picasa for years. What a great free utility for your pictures. Rather than have your pics scattered all over your pc, Picasa finds them all and shows you an easy and organized short cut too them. Also from in there you can crop, adjust, collage or export them to the web - do whatever you need to do to them all in one program. I love Picasa!
Stamina 2.5 All thumbs when it comes to typing? Stamina 2.5 will help. It is a great typing tutor with a kind of funky name. I thought it was along the lines of “Enzyte” or something and NO THAT IS NOT WHY I CLICKED ON IT! I thought it was miscategorized and was looking to laugh at someone! I am so glad I did however. You can test your kpm (keys per minute), wpm (words per minute) and can also break your practice down into symbols, numbes or words. Great freeware!
Digsby may still fit in the functionality profile because it is a great big help if you have more than one email account. Digsby is a chat service - for those of you familiar with Trillian, Gaim and Penguin, Digsby is like that only it is by far my favorite.
It automatically pops up for me for instance and shows me new emails in our families three gmail accounts, our 3 yahoo accounts and any new activity on Linked In, Myspace, Facebook or Twitter! All this while I’m chatting with my son on yahoo and my sister on AIM. Try it out!
The rest is definitely customization:
Mozilla Firefox 3 I am such a big fan of customization and not only does Mozilla Firefox offer that, it offers good security as well. Many are beginning to prefer it over Internet Explorer. Here is a list of Firefox Add-Ons - you can browse the column on the left to see which may strike your fancy!
Logon Studio This is just a nice change. Gives your pc a new welcome screen at logon. I have mine rotate so their a different pic each time.
Object Dock I use this on and off for something different on my desktop. You can see a screen shot when you click on the link to decide for yourself. Object Dock gives your Windows pc more of a Macintosh look. Wit it though you can virtually get rid of all the icons off your desktop and be able to access them from the bottom of the page. Also customizable so it can blend in with your wallpaper. Nice touch.
Transform XP to Vista I’ve just started using it and it does just as it says. Gives your Windows XP os a Vista look. Apparently so you can decide if you want to “cross over”. It comes with “Yahoo Widgets” which I’m not really crazy about. Go ahead and “transform” it’s worth a shot”
Enjoy!
Cryptic Muse
