DEVICES/ TECHNOLOGIES

LENOVO NOTEBOOK PC/LAPTOP

2009-08-16T04:00:00.001-07:00

What an Idea(Pad)!

Lenovos IdeaPad Y650 is pitched as first 16 notebook for family & individual use

Ishani Duttagupta

ITS PARTof the size zero brigade. Lenovos IdeaPad Y650 is thinner than most of the other 16 inch laptops available in the market today. On the lightness front too, it does well and weighs 2.55 kg, less than many of the 15 inchers. The design of IdeaPad Y650, with its black exterior and smart orange trimming sets it apart, even as the white keypad inside comes as a visual surprise. The carbon fibre reinforced plastic material provides durability and ruggedness to the exterior which is in a hexagonal design.
This laptop is being pitched as the first Lenovo consumer 16 notebook that is designed for family and individual use some of the features such as high-definition graphics, ergonomic keyboard and OneKey theatre software to give users an easy option to switch the PC display and sound effect from normal to movie mode will make it popular in that segment. The pair of JBL speakers that come with the IdeaPad definitely add to its oomph and deliver very good quality sound despite the laptop being as thin and light as it is. The Blu-ray reader-writer is yet another exciting feature on offer. The multi-touch touchpad is a highlight of this notebook, even as the keyboard is much smaller than the usual 16-inch notebooks. The bigger touchpad provides comfort for the user though the smaller keyboard is a bit cramped. Users can make use of the multitouch touchpad to browse webpage and files or enlarge and reduce the size of images. The Intel Centrino 2 platform gives the IdeaPad better performance in terms of up to 50% more speed when multitasking. The unit is also designed for the longest possible battery life. Finally, the VeriFace face recognition security software provides users a secure way to log on and ensure
that unauthorized users are locked out of the system.

Price:

Rs 103,990/-

(inclusive of all taxes)

ishani.duttagupta@timesgroup .com

LENOVO NOTEBOOK PC/LAPTOP

2009-08-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

India close to unlocking H1N1 flu drug code

2009-07-14T03:35:00.001-07:00

India close to unlocking H1N1 flu drug code

Kounteya Sinha | TNN

New Delhi: India is now one step closer to pip Chinas monopoly over shikimic acid the worlds most wanted medical compound at present.
Scientists in Bangalore will soon begin commercial trials with an industrial partner, to gauge exactly how much of the acid can be extracted from trees in the Western Ghats, when processed in large quantities.
With the deadly H1N1 swine flu now a global pandemic, nations across the world have started to stockpile millions of doses of Tamilfu, the only known drug that fights H1N1 infection . Shikimic acid is the most vital ingredient used to make Tamiflu.
At present, the acids global requirement is being entirely met by China, because it is extracted from the fruits of the Chinese star anise tree, that contains up to 5% of the acid.
However, Indian scientists from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, in April announced that they had found seven plant species that yielded 1%-5 .02% of shikimic acid from the forests of the Western Ghats one of the worlds 10 hottest biodiversity hotspots.
An alternate source of the acid would not only bring down its price, which at present is very steep, but will also ensure its constant availability.
Speaking to TOI, principal investigator Dr Ramanan Uma Shaanker said, We have been approached by three companies for tie-up in conducting largescale commercial trials to see the economic feasibility of extracting shikimic acid from Indian plants. At present, we know that 100 kg of the Indian leaves can yield 5 kg of shikimic acid. In our lab, we have tried upto 10 kg of the leaves. Once the tie-up is finalised, we will extract the acid from about 300 kg. Dr Shaanker added, Interestingly, of the seven plants, we now know that two can be domesticated and farmed. Therefore, it does not face extinction from the Ghats if used in large quantities. In case of the five others, propagation technique is yet to be worked out. Right now, all seven plants grow in the wild. The most significant advantage of the newly identified Indian sources is that the acid was found in leaves and not fruits as is the case with star anise. The 10-metre star anise tree attains its seed-bearing stage after six years, making it unlikely that the growing market demand of the acid would be met by this single source alone. The fruits of this tree contain 2-7 % of shikimic acid. Because the acid was found in the leaves of the Indian plants, it is much more viable, sustainable and economically feasible against extraction from fruits, Dr Shaanker said.
Indian companies said getting shikimic acid to make Tamiflu in India has been the biggest hurdle. The price of the acid has skyrocketed, sometimes touching $1,000 per kg.
Leaves are abundant and present throughout the year. We will soon demonstrate the feasibility of bulk extraction . Industries already have technologies for isolation of shikimic acid from star anise. The same could be applied to the Indian plants with minor modifications. The process is relatively simple as shikimic acid is highly water soluble, Dr Shaanker said.
India has till now spent over Rs 30 crore in purchasing Tamilfu.

Thinnest material may replace silicon to make PCs faster

2009-07-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

ONE-ATOM THICK
Thinnest material may replace silicon to make PCs faster

Graphene , the new won der material to come out of science laboratories , is only one atom thick but is stronger than diamond and conducts electricity 100 times faster than the silicon in computer chips. It is creating tremendous buzz among physicists and electronic engineers.
It is the thinnest known material in the universe, and the strongest ever measured, Andre Geim , a physicist at the University of Manchester, England , wrote in journal Science . A few grams could cover a football field, said Rod Ruoff , a graphene researcher at the University of Texas, Austin , in an email. A gram is about 1/30th of an ounce.
Like diamond, graphene is pure carbon. It forms a six-sided mesh of atoms that, through an electron microscope, looks like a honeycomb or piece of chicken wire. Despite its strength, its as flexible as plastic wrap and can be bent, folded or rolled up like a scroll.
Graphite, the lead in a pencil , is made of stacks of graphene layers. Although each individual layer is tough, the bonds between them are weak, so they slip off easily and leave a dark mark when you write. Potential graphene applications include touch screens, solar cells, energy storage devices , mobiles and, eventually, high-speed computer chips.
Replacing silicon, the basic electronic material in computer chips, however, is a long way off . . . far beyond the horizon , said Geim, who first discovered how to produce graphene five years ago.
In the near and medium term, its going to be extremely difficult for graphene to displace silicon as the main material in computer electronics , said Tomas Palacios , a graphene researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Silicon is a multi-billion dollar industry that has been perfecting silicon processing for 40 years.
Government and university laboratories, long-established companies such as IBM are working to solve difficult problems in making graphene and turning it into useful

Tiny battery that can be printed

2009-07-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

Tiny battery that can be printed

Researchers have created a battery which weighs almost nothing and can be printed in a process similar to silk-screening shirts.
The printable battery is expected to be cheap and easy to mass produce and could be used in disposable receipts or cards, engineers in Germany announced on Friday.
Our goal is to be able to mass produce the batteries at a price of single digit cent range each, said Andreas Willert, of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS, where Reinhard Baumann led the batterys development. The battery weighs less than 1 gram and is less than 1 millimeter thick. It runs at 1.5 volts. Placing several in a row can produce up to 6 volts. A standard AAA battery weighs about 11.5 grams and also runs at 1.5 volts.
However, the newly developed battery has a life span more limited than traditional batteries, Livescience reported.
The new battery contains no mercury and so is said to be more environmentally friendly than some. Actual products with the battery could be ready by the end of the year, the engineers said. AGENCIES

One day, humans too can regrow severed limbs

2009-07-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

One day, humans too can regrow severed limbs

Self-Healing Ability Of Salamanders Can Be Applied To Us

Mexican salamanders who can regrow amputated legs are not pulling off quite as big a trick as scientists had first thought, which may help doctors trying to regenerate human limbs.
Researchers looking into how salamanders are able to to regrow their damaged bodies have discovered that the almost magical ability is closer to human healing then earlier thought. They believe that one day they will be able to completely unlock the secret and apply it to humans, reprogramming the body so it can repair itself perfectly as if nothing had happened.
The amphibians are almost unique in that if they lose a limb, a small bump forms over the injury called a blastema. Within about three weeks this blastema transforms into a new, fully functioning replacement limb without any scarring.
At first it was thought that the ability was so alien to human healing that, outside of science fiction novels, it could never be transformed into a useful treatment for damaged human bodies.
But researchers at the University of Florida have found that it is not as remarkable as first thought and we could learn how to replicate it in people. I think its more mammallike than was ever expected, said Malcolm Maden, author of the paper . It gives you more hope for being able to someday regenerate individual tissues in people.
Scientists studying the Axolotl salamander of Mexico had long thought the amphibious creatures capabilities were down to so-called pluripotent cells, which had the ability to morph into whatever appendage , organ or tissue happens to be needed or due for a replacement, the Daily Telegraph reported.
But a paper in the journal Nature debunks that notion, discovering that the regenerative process is like a much more sophisticated version of healing in humans and other mammals.
They found that repairs were down to much more standard stem cells like those in mammals but with the ability to reorganise themselves in the correct order to rebuild the body. Standard mammal stem cells operate in the same way, albeit with far less dramatic results they can heal wounds or knit bone together, but not regenerate a limb or rebuild a spinal cord.
The salamanders heal perfectly, without any scars whatsoever, another ability people would like to learn how to mimic, Maden said.
He said the findings will help researchers zero in on why salamander cells are capable of such remarkable regeneration. AGENCIES

Mega colony of ants takes over the world

2009-07-03T16:00:00.000-07:00

Mega colony of ants takes over the world

Scientists from Japan and Spain have discovered that one single mega colony of Argentine ants covers most of the world.
The ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another. The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.
The enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society . Each super-colony , however, was thought to be quite distinct. But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony .
Researchers in Japan and Spain led by Eiriki Sunamura of the University of Tokyo found that Argentine ants living in Europe, Japan and California shared a strikingly similar chemical profile of hydrocarbons on their cuticles, BBC reported.
Ants from the smaller supercolonies were always aggressive to one another. So ants from the west coast of Japan fought their rivals from Kobe, while ants from the European super-colony didnt get on with those from the Iberian colony.
But whenever ants from the European and Californian super-colonies and those from the largest colony in Japan came into contact, they acted as if they were old friends. These ants rubbed antennae with one another and never became aggressive or tried to avoid one another. In short, they acted as if they belonged to the same colony, despite living on different continents separated by vast oceans. AGENCIES

No cells needed, bugs keep this clock ticking

2009-07-03T15:58:00.000-07:00

No cells needed, bugs keep this clock ticking

Tokyo: Tired of bugs in your house A new kind of electronics aims to puts those bugs and the energy created when theyre digested by the groups special fuel cell to work for you.
Artists James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau have designed a clock equipped with a conveyor belt of flypaper that traps insects and transports them to a chemical bath. There, they are broken down in a microbial fuel cell. The chemical reactions that develop from this digestion are used to power a small clock and the conveyor belt itself.
The artists have developed a few other morbid appliances and furniture items that feeds off the flesh of animals or insects . One such design is a light that attracts insects to it using ultraviolet LEDs. Once inside, they fall into a fuel cell bath where they are digested and power the light.
Another design uses a camera and robotic hand to pluck dead insects out of a spiders web, place them into a fuel cell and power the camera and robotic arm.
The most disgusting, though, is a coffee table that doubles as a mousetrap. Enticing mice to crawl up onto the table, theres a trapdoor in the middle that will open, dropping the mouse into another fuel cell (these guys love fuel cells). The mouse will then be digested in order to power not only the trapdoor, but also an LED display on the table.
As soon as there is a predatory robot in the room the scene becomes loaded with potential , Auger told New Scientist . A fly buzzing around the window suddenly becomes an actor in a live game of life, as the viewer half wills it towards the robot and half hopes for it to escape.
These pieces may seem gruesome, but its interesting that they use a very unexpected fuel to help them selfperpetuate . Perhaps the law of survival of the fittest will now need to be extended to home furnishings. AGENCIES

SPLIT AC's

2009-06-29T04:34:00.000-07:00

S P L I T AC S

Hitachi Split Atom Square RMU019ENDZ1

Rs 52,000

A state-of-the-art split AC, it has two indoor units and a single outdoor unit. Its modular design enables you to add a second indoor unit whenever you want to. The AC comes fitted with a unique UV fresh technology that continuously emits UV rays on to the filter, destroying microbes giving you a clean environment. Kaimin, an intelligent feature, adjusts the room temperature automatically to suit your body needs and ensures you save up to 45% power. Its Koukin filter has anti-bacterial filter increasing the efficiency of the AC.

LG Maestro LSA5JS5CFC 1

Rs 46,990

This technological wonder from LG sets a new benchmark of cooling. Enjoy 30% pure air with the 3G Cyclotron Plasma Filter and a unique allergy care system that ensures purity. With the Aero comfort system intact , a single remote controls the AC and the ceiling fan. Finally, its powerful air throw system has the capability to cool large spaces with optimum silence.

Daikin FT-50 1.5 TR

Rs 46,865

A sleek modern air-conditioner , high on energy savings, best suited to provide high COPs (Co-efficient of performance ) of 3.2 or more. Its Titanium Apatite air purifier is a photo catalytic material giving an advanced dust absorption power. The smoothly curved Louvers provide ample airflow coverage for effective cooling operations. Its new powerful operation boosts airflow to maximum volume for a non-stop 20-minute period.

Samsung-AS 18VXB Vivace Plus

Rs 35,990

With a sophisticated and chic design, its an instant eye grabber. Samsungs unique UTR (Ultra Tropical Rotary) Plus compressor features incredible power that can quickly cool even in harsh climates. Its auto clean function protects against bacteria and mold growth. Its MCC technology (Multi Channel Condenser) technology achieves 30% increase in performance.

HOME THEATRE SYSTEMS

2009-06-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Understanding consumer psyche

NOWas a retailer we have to understand the consumers psyche, changing spending habits and increasing purchasing parity. We have created a 5000 sq ft area especially for this where we have displayed seven screens with different combinations with home theatre systems, adds Srikanth Gokhale.
In the Rs 1100-cr Indian audio systems market, the contribution of conventional music systems to the overall sales of audio systems has come down from around 35% to a lower single digit figure, according to industry estimates . Agrees Murali Sivaraman, MD & CEO of Philips Electronics India, who feels that home theatres will see the fastest growth in the near future. We are enjoying double digit growth in this segment and have big plans for the future, he told SundayET.
But apart from home theatres, the culprits for this murder seem to be iPods and music phones. Music has become more personal, argues Tiwari. Consumers can now download the music they want and dont have to get into the hassle of operating a music system where they have to skip through tracks to locate the one they want to hear. Case in point: Over half the music industrys Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) now come from the mobile space.
This perhaps also explains the spurt in sales of smaller audio systems known as micro-hi-fis . According to ORG-GFK figures, during the January to April period this year, sales of micro-hifi systems have risen by almost 21%. The major differences between a mini-hi-fi system and a micro-hi-fi system lie in their size and power (expressed in watts). Mini-hi-fi systems are about 30 centimetres wide, whereas micro-hifi systems are never wider than 22 centimetres and are significantly less powerful.
But in the long run, companies are betting on home theatres to spearhead the audio market here. Conventional audio systems are dead, states Jung Soo Shin, president & CEO, Samsung India Electronics. Hence, its not a surprise to see companies such as LG and Samsung gearing up to launch new home theatre systems with enhanced features such as Bluetooth, HDMI (high definition multimedia interface), sound enhancement technologies and futuristic designs.
In hindsight, John Denver predicted this homeward-bound trend a long time ago. What was that again... Country roads, take me home...
john.sarkar@timegroup .com

LAPTOPS

2009-06-26T05:06:00.001-07:00

Lap It Up!

Now this is what you would call a huge launch! HP offers six new laptops in price bands to suit every budget. Pick and go...

HP MINI 110

This ultraportable is designed to provide a seamless Internet interface and experience Perfect for those on the go! Price: Rs 22,990

HP PROBOOK

When youre talking biz, the ProBook has to be by your side. With substance and style to wow anyone, this looks like a great deal. Price: Starts at Rs 40,990

COMPAQ 610 NOTEBOOK PC

Forget budgeting issues This series has the perfect pick for everyone from a student to a businessman . All you need to do is Pick one! Price: Starts at Rs 33,500

ALSO LAUNCHED

DV2 Series:

This one is all set to catch your entertainment pulse. Sleek and loaded. Just perfect for movie buffs! Price: Starts at Rs 38,490

DV3 Series:

This sleek work of art has some crazy meat under its skin. A feature-packed , lean-mean device. Price: Rs 50,990

DV6 Series:

Entertainment or hardcore graphic work Whatever your thrill, this one takes the cake. Price: Starts at Rs 40,990

Sachet-sized telecom infrastructure

2009-06-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

Sachet-sized telecom infrastructure

ROHIT PRASAD

MUCH has been made of the success of FMCG companies in managing to induct low income consumers into the market by selling shampoo and other consumer products in sachets. Our policymakers and telecom operators can draw deep lessons from the sachet case to meet the challenge of building telecom infrastructure in rural areas. They can shift from deployment of infrastructure in large tranches to deployment in small sachets, thereby ensuring viability, seeding the market and promoting competition.
The business case for telecom in rural areas is poor because the cost of building towers and of operations is high relative to the revenue per user. Further, the towers require skilled personnel for setting them up and maintenance. Such personnel are often not available in rural areas. This article proposes an alternative paradigm of infrastructure development the sachet approach.
In the traditional approach, a tower sends one beam that is supposed to cover a large area. In the context of sparsely populated rural areas the result is coverage in areas that do not require connectivity like forests, or areas with low demand, along with lack of quality coverage in areas that need to be covered . In the sachet approach, the operator chooses to cover a given area in stages, starting from the most viable. The single big forty metre tower is replaced with a stripped down tower of the same height that serves as a central transceiver along with ten-metre towers, that are put up in stages in response to perceived demand.
A simple numerical example will serve to illustrate the principle. Suppose Rs 100 per year of amortised capital cost plus running expense are needed to cover an area of 1 sq km, and the revenue per user is Rs 1. Then 100 subscribers are needed for the business to break even. The problem is, there are only 70 subscribers. The large tower approach is stymied by this problem but the sachet approach can still be viable.
In the sachet approach a central transceiver is put up for a cost of Rs 50 per year. Ten small towers costing Rs 5 a year are needed to complete the coverage. However, the operator chooses to put up only one small tower in the most attractive pocket of the 1 sq km area where 50 of the 70 customers are living. Such heterogeneity in the addressable market is a common feature of rural areas . The total revenue is Rs 50 and the operational cost is higher at Rs 55. But with the second tower the operator becomes viable, as the second tower is put up at an area which has the remaining twenty customers. Now the operator has a running cost of Rs 60 and revenue of Rs 70. So by limiting coverage to the most attractive pockets, the sachet approach succeeds where a large tower approach could not.
Further, the quality of service provided in the two sub-pockets is superior to the quality that would have been provided with a single large tower. The proximity of the small towers allows the signal to pass through media that checked transmission in the case of the single beam. The improved quality can result in a higher number of customers.
Finally the adoption of mobile phones in small pockets of the 1 sq km area of our example enhances incomes in that pocket generating further demand. In some cases there can be a trickle down effect of increased income to surrounding pockets as well, increasing the geographical area of the viable market. Notice that after the first batch of customers the cost of adding a customer is quite low and breakeven easy to achieve. Therefore, over time, it becomes possible to put up more small towers to capture the enhanced demand, and also for more operators to enter leading to beneficial competitive pressures.
The numbers above are simplistic and purely for exposition. Hopefully they illustrate the point that a sachet approach, while not necessarily cheaper in terms of cost per unit area of coverage, creates a viable market by restricting coverage to attractive pockets, provides enhanced quality of service, and allows market penetration after the necessary trickle down effects have taken place.
Other benefits include the ability to localise the skill requirement to set up the towers , and the opportunity to boost local entrepreneurship through micro-finance assisted local ownership of the small towers. Localising the ownership also distributes the risk leading to greater viability of investment, and greater competition.
The USO Fund which has fallen short in its attempt to develop rural infrastructure could mandate a small tower approach for the use of its funds. The results of such an approach would surely mirror the resounding success of introducing consumer products in low income segments through a sachet approach.

The Best Free Software of 2009

2009-06-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Best Free Software of 2009
ARTICLE DATE: 01.13.09

By Eric Griffith

Buzz up!on Yahoo!Buzz up!on Yahoo!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Why pay? You've already shelled out money for a computer, so there's no reason that what's running on that pricey PC should cost a darn thing. Not in this day and age of amazing freebie software and Web apps. That's why every year PCMag.com presents a look at the best programs you can download or access online at no cost. All are worthy replacements for your ancient and sometimes forgotten desktop applications, and they'll save you thousands of dollars to boot.

We've even made it easy for you to sort through this list, by including the best of the best in our Hall of Fame—just look for the icon next to names like Audacity and Thunderbird. But it's impossible for us to find all of the free apps, much less try them all out to find the most effective or most useful. Did we miss a free app that you can't live without? Share your favorites at a special posting site on our AppScout blog, Your Favorite Free Software.

App Launchers

1. Circle Dock
circledock.wikidot.com
Windows
Who says a dock has to actually... dock? To the side of the screen, that is. Circle Dock brings up a spiraling launcher interface with all the icons you want to click. Rotate it with the wheel on your mouse and change the skin to suit your desktop.

2. ObjectDock
www.stardock.com
Windows
Replace the Windows Taskbar and Quick Launch toolbar with this Mac-like animated toolbar of icons for all your programs. It comes with a few "docklets" for displaying info like the time, weather, and a Web search form.

3. Launchy
www.launchy.net
Windows | Linux
"Keystroke launcher" is a fancy way of saying "command line," but if you like to type rather than click for control—a practice that goes well beyond app launching—Launchy is your best choice.

4. Quicksilver
www.blacktree.com
Mac OS
Quicksilver does more from the keyboard than just launch programs. It can act on any item you can find or drag on your Mac. Quicksilver plug-ins add even more functions.

Audio/Music

5. Audacity [HALL OF FAME]
audacity.sourceforge.net
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
On a par with any commercial audio editor, Audacity is the free sound editor of choice. The latest beta (1.3.6) even supports MPEG-4, Dolby Digital, and Windows Media.

6. Banshee
banshee-project.org
Linux
iTunes is riffed upon again, this time in a Linux-only option that supports audio and video, Android phones, and older iPods (but not iPhones or iPod touch... for now).

7. EphPod
www.ephpod.com
Windows
It does whatever iTunes does in Windows—syncing, playlists, iPod firmware updates, and much more, including moving music from an iPod to your new PC.

8. foobar2000
www.foobar2000.org
Windows
Basic playback of just about any audio you can imagine is foobar2000's calling card, complete with an iTunes-like interface.

9. imeem (formerly Anywhere.FM)
www.imeem.com
Web
If iTunes were entirely in the cloud, it would be pretty close to imeem (formerly Anywhere.FM). Upload your music collection and videos to stream from any device. Digital photos, too. You can share them with friends you make on the service.

10. iTunes [HALL OF FAME]
www.apple.com/itunes
Windows | Mac OS
Do we have to explain iTunes as the (so far) ultimate media player, coupled with online store and the primary way to get media—from music to video to games to podcasts, which plays most file formats (except, unsurprisingly, Windows Media formats)—and puts them on your iPod or iPhone? Probably not.

11. Mojo
www.deusty.com
Windows | Mac OS
When you and some friends install Mojo, you're ready for a unique sharing experience. Browsing and downloading MP3s from each other's iTunes music libraries is suddenly a very easy proposition. If it's a DRM file from the iTunes store, Mojo highlights them in red so you won't be bothered trying.

12. Songbird
www.getsongbird.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Mozilla's knockoff of iTunes is free, open-source, and supports just about every kind of music file you can imagine. You can even download embedded MP3s on Web sites to your permanent collection. Extensions add support for iPods and Web services.

13. Screamer Radio
www.screamer-radio.com
Windows
You can download an app or run it from the Web, but either way, Screamer Radio accesses and lets you record Internet radio in a number of streaming audio formats (Shoutcast, Icecast, Ogg Vorbis, WMA, and AAC).

14. WavePad Sound Editor
www.nch.com.au/wavepad
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
WavePad puts all the usual bells and whistles of audio editing and effects at your fingertips.

15. Winamp [HALL OF FAME]
www.winamp.com
Windows
Still a primo MP3 player, Winamp is both customizable (it heralded the age of "skins" on software) and comes in multiple versions, including one that works with CDs.

Backup

16. DriveImage XML
www.runtime.org
Windows
Make a replica—an image—of your entire hard drive for easy backup and restore later.

17. MozBackup
mozbackup.jasnapaka.com
Windows
If you're a big user of Mozilla products—including Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey, as well as Flock and Netscape—use MozBackup to store your hard-earned settings and data like bookmarks and e-mail messages.

18. MozyHome Free
www.mozy.com
Windows | Mac OS
Don't even think about backing up: MozyHome will do it for you, in the background, for up to 2GB of data (you can pay to get unlimited space). Perfect for office docs, but you'll want to pay for more storage to back up pictures, music, or videos. Soon it will sync between PCs, too.

19. SpiderOak
www.spideroak.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
It's another 2GB of free online storage that backs up in the background, but SpiderOak goes Mozy one better by supporting Linux.

20. SyncToy v2.0
www.microsoft.com/downloads
Windows
This so-called PowerToy from Microsoft has the power to make sure folders across your multiple drives or even your home network stay fully synchronized.

21. SyncBack Freeware
www.2brightsparks.com/freeware
Windows
Set all the parameters and SyncBack will handle synchronization or backup between folders, FTP sites, or ZIP archives.

Blogging

22. ScribeFire
www.scribefire.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
This add-on for Firefox is a perfect tool for posting entries to just about any blogging software or service in existence.

23. TweetDeck
www.tweetdeck.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Don't restrict Twitter to just a column when this Adobe Air–based software can spread itself across your desktop with multiple columns. Each column can contain replies, direct messages, or whatever you specify. As with any tweet tool, the columns auto-update as new tweets arrive. TweetDeck stores all tweets that arrive while the app is running so you don't miss anything overnight.

24. Twitteriffic
www.iconfactory.com/software/twitterrific
Mac OS| Mobile
A small desktop footprint is the hallmark of this reverse-type Twitter app, great for reading and posting to the popular microblogging service. All the features you expect, and more, are there—even in the free version, which includes advertisements.

25. Zoundry Raven
www.zoundryraven.com
Windows
Finally, standalone software that gives Windows Live Writer some serious competition for the pro bloggers. It handles full WYSIWYG editing on multiple blogs and can run portably from a USB flash drive to use with any Windows PC.

26. twhirl
www.twhirl.org
Windows | Mac OS
A desktop interface for Twitter, twhirl requires Adobe AIR to run but makes it infinitely easier to keep up with tweets and/or twits.

27. Ustream.tv
www.ustream.tv
Web
Still the best way to broadcast yourself, live, across the Web. All you need is the webcam.

28. WordPress.com
www.wordpress.com
Web
You could install WordPress on your servers, or go right to this commercial, hosted site and set up a professional-looking blog in no time.
Read our review of WordPress.

29. Windows Live Writer
get.live.com/writer/overview
Windows
This desktop software for blog posting is a favorite with the pros who want a WYSIWYG editor that also posts photos, maps, and other content.

Browsers

30. Camino
caminobrowser.org
Mac OS
Love Firefox but wish it was more ... Mac-ish? Camino solves that issue, offering "Mozilla power, Mac style." It has full support of Mac OS's Keychain, AppleScript, and all the typical Firefox goodies.

31. Flock 2
www.flock.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Flock 2 stresses the social along with surfing, integrating features like RSS reading and Twitter and media access right into the browser. Since it's based on Firefox, it can also use many of the same extensions.
Read our review of Flock 2.

32. Firefox [HALL OF FAME]
www.mozilla.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Mobile
Can't wait for the free update to IE8, which promises an enhanced address bar and upgraded privacy protections? In the meantime use our favorite browser. Firefox is beholden to no one and extensible to the nth degree. Upcoming versions will offer far more security and superfast JavaScript to make the browsing experience even better.
Read our review of Firefox 3, a PCMag Editors' Choice.

33. FoxReplace
code.google.com/p/foxreplace
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
If you work in a lot of Web forms or Web apps like Google Docs, this Firefox add-on is a must-have. It can search and replace text in Web pages quickly and easily.

34. Google Chrome
www.google.com/chrome
Windows
Everyone pays attention to what Google does, and when it made a Web browser, the world noticed. And for good reason: This streamlined, fast, secure software has true potential in the browser wars.

35. Internet Explorer 8 Beta [HALL OF FAME]
www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer
Windows
This is a freebie you're probably already using in some form, as IE is the most-used Web browser in the world. The latest beta adds fantastic (if overdue) features such as a stealth mode, better performance, and the ability to subscribe to "web slices" that are just parts of a full Web page.

36. Opera [HALL OF FAME]
www.opera.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Mobile
Opera can claim many "firsts"—tabs, speed dial, and more—and some say the best. It remains a fast browser with a presence available on just about any device in your digital arsenal.
Read our review of Opera 9.

37. OperaTor
archetwist.com/en/opera/operator
Windows
Combine the portable version of Opera with the anonymizing service Tor (The Onion Router) and you get OperaTor, a bundle (including Polipo as a proxy) that keeps your surfing secret.

38. Safari
www.apple.com/safari
Windows | Mac OS
Fast page load times are a hallmark of this browser, the default for Mac installations and also available for Windows. Safari offered private browsing before it was cool.
Read our review of Safari 3.1 for Windows.

Calendar/PIMs

39. 30 Boxes
www.30boxes.com
www.30boxes.com
An online calendar that actually looks like a calendar. The buddies feature makes sharing schedules and to-dos a breeze.

40. Calgoo Calendar
www.calgoo.com/calendar
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Think of Calgoo as one calendar app to rule them all: The software provides desktop access to Google Calendar and 30 Boxes, and syncs data with Outlook and Apple iCal.

41. Doomi
doominow.com
Windows
This simple to-do list app requires Adobe Air to run, and floats on your screen or rests in the system tray—the very model of an unobtrusive application. Future plans include syncing with an online to-do list.

42. Google Calendar
www.google.com/calendar
Web | Mobile
With multiple views, simple sharing, and seamless integration with other Google products, Google's calendar, like most of its Web apps, stands a notch above the rest.
Read the full review of Google Calendar.

43. Lightning
www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Solaris | OS2
Mozilla's calendar add-on for Thunderbird gives the e-mail client all it needs to take on all the features of Microsoft Outlook.

44. Chandler
chandlerproject.org
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
An open-source, sharable desktop to-do master, Chandler looks vaguely Outlook-esque, but it doesn't worry about communications—just tasks for those embracing the "getting things done" lifestyle.

45. Remember The Milk
www.rememberthemilk.com
Web | Mobile
This power to-do list site gives you many ways to get reminders (e-mail, SMS, IM) and even more ways to create them, from Google widgets to phone calls to IM bots.

46. Remember The Task
www.jashsayani.com/my-softwares
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
This Adobe Air–based app puts a small window on your desktop with one fantastic purpose: full-time access to your Remember The Milk task list.

47. TaskFive
www.taskfive.com
Web
Just five tasks a day? Take it as a challenge, not a limitation. TaskFive sports an elegant calendar interface, and you can enter tasks via Web, e-mail, or text message. Team to-dos will cost you, however.

48. Yahoo Calendar
calendar.yahoo.com
Web
An old-timer compared with many, Yahoo Calendar doesn't innovate a lot but provides solid features, shareable calendars, and synchronization with Outlook.

Communication/E-Mail

49. eM Client
www.emclient.com
Windows
Anyone familiar with Outlook or Thunderbird can master the basics of using eM Client freeware in no time. It already syncs with Google Calendar, and future developments will integrate social networks and IMs with your e-mail.

50. Gmail
www.gmail.com
Web | Mobile
The current bellwether in Web-based e-mail is still in perennial beta, but Google continues to innovate with additions via the Gmail Labs. The searchable and ever-increasing storage (up to 7GB now, up from 5.5GB last year) doesn't hurt. New themes make it pretty. And you can use it to IM or even send SMS text messages to friends' phones.

51. gAttach
www.gattach.net
Windows
Usually with webmail, you have to put attachments on a message after the fact. gAttach does it automatically when you select a file, or from within other apps like MS Word, all from the desktop. If you prefer Yahoo Mail,check out yAttach.

52. Google Contacts
hogi.a.orn.jp/en/gmcont.html
Windows
This extension for Thunderbird does one thing you need: It synchronizes contacts between Thunderbird and Google's Gmail.

53. iContact
www.dataload.com/icontact
Windows
Accessing your Gmail contacts is all the easier with iContact; it displays the normally browser-accessible-only list on your desktop and integrates those contacts into other communications software, like Skype.

54. Simple Mail
www.userlogos.org/extensions/simplemail
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
If you already have Firefox open all the time, why not have one of those tabs just for mail? The Simple Mail add-on puts a POP3/IMAP client right inside the browser.

55. Thunderbird [HALL OF FAME]
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
The Internet's top e-mail client from Mozilla is (of course) extensible, but even without add-ons Thunderbird is simple-to-master software for anyone with a POP3 or IMAP e-mail account.
Read our review of Thunderbird 2.

56. Windows Live Mail
get.live.co
Windows
Outlook Express has morphed into the modern-day Live Mail, ready to check POP3, IMAP, and webmail accounts when you're not using it to read RSS feeds or plan your calendar.
Read our review of Windows Live Mail (Wave 3).

57. Yahoo Mail
mail.yahoo.com
Web
Our webmail Editors' Choice embeds the Yahoo Messenger IM and RSS reader, works on the Web with any browser or operating system, and has more features than anyone could hope to master.
Read our review of Yahoo Mail, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

58. Zenbe
www.zenbe.com
Web
Zenbe is a multi-account, Internet-based interface to check Yahoo Mail, Gmail, AOL, Windows Live, and POP3 messages. It throws in a shareable calendar, an address book, and other tools to make it extra-useful.

Conferencing

59. Dabbleboard
www.dabbleboard.com
Web
As simple as any whiteboard in a conference room, Dabbleboard's online app brings drawing and some real-time collaboration to your group.

60. SightSpeed
www.sightspeed.com
Windows | Mac OS
Now owned by Logitech, SightSpeed provides one-on-one video chat with unparalleled video quality, but more than two users at a time will cost you.
Read our full review of SightSpeed 6.0, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice .

61. Skype
www.skype.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Easy to use for phone calls (free between Skype users, with a minimal charge to call other phones), Skype truly shines when paired with a high-end webcam so you can see your friends and family.
Read our full review of Skype.

62. Tokbox
www.tokbox.com
Web
The Tokbox service turns your AIM buddy list into a videoconferencing buddy list directly in your browser. Separate apps make it work through Facebook or on your desktop. You provide the camera.
Read our full review of TokBox AIR.

File Transfer/Download

63. CrossFTP
www.crossftp.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Built on Java, CrossFTP works and looks the same, no matter which OS you run. It features tabs for each connection, support for archives, and drag-and-drop transfer, and it comes in a free server version, too.

64. DownThemAll
www.downthemall.net
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Don't download just one item at a time from a Web page. As the name implies, this download manager for Firefox handles them all.

65. Filezilla
www.filezilla-project.org
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Slick and simple FTP that does the job, complete with drag-and-drop from local to remote or vice versa.

66. FireFTP
fireftp.mozdev.org
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Because it's a plug-in for Firefox, FireFTP behaves like any other tab in the browser, so you don't have to launch another application to transfer files.

67. Halite
www.binarynotions.com/halite-bittorrent-client
Windows
Instead of downloading an entire file, apps using the super-popular BitTorrent protocol break files into chunks and distribute them among several users. Free, open-source application Halite is a BitTorrent client focused on using as small of a memory footprint as possible.

68. net2ftp
www.net2ftp.com
Web
If you sit at a computer with no FTP software but need to upload a file, stat, this Web app comes to your rescue quickly as long as you have the server, username, and password information.

69. Rightload
www.rightload.org
Windows
Send a file to preconfigured FTP servers anytime you want with a simple right click. Rightload adds just a single line to the context menu, with fly-out menus for each FTP server you want

70. uTorrent
www.utorrent.com
Windows
Still the best—and smallest—BitTorrent client in existence, uTorrent will have you downloading big files in no time.

File Viewers/Converters

71. Adobe Reader [HALL OF FAME]
www.adobe.com/reader
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Mobile
Adobe's PDF reader is far from basic, with a number of extra features including online collaboration tools.

72. Foxit Reader
www.foxitsoftware.com
Windows | Linux | Mobile
Frequently preferred over Adobe's own reader for PDFs, Foxit has a reputation for speed. What's more, it can annotate files.

73. PeaZip
peazip.sourceforge.net
Windows | Linux
It'll create ZIPs, 7Zs, TARs, ARCs, and more; it'll open those and many other archives too, including RAR. It can do so with AES encryption of your files, and even split or join extralarge files to make them easier to transport.

74. Sumatra PDF
blog.kowalczyk.info/software/sumatrapdf
Windows
The perfect PDF reader for the minimalist, with a super-simple interface and fast start-up time. Sumatra is perfect to carry on a USB thumb drive.

75. Quick Media Converter (QMC)
www.cocoonsoftware.com
Windows
If you're frequently converting audio or video files to different formats, keep this tool handy for (as the name suggests) quick media conversion to a number of potential formats.

76. WinRAR
www.rarlab.com
Windows
We all know about compressing files with ZIP, but RAR is also quite popular; WinRAR will compress or decompress files in both.

77. YemuZip
www.yellowmug.com/yemuzip
Mac OS
Sometimes unzipping a compressed file on the Mac makes a mess. YemuZip makes archiving and decompressing a simple drag-and-drop procedure.

78. Zamzar
www.zamzar.com
Web
Upload just about any file (under 100MB) and you can convert it to just about any format that makes sense. This tool even grabs online videos from YouTube and turns them into files you can use.

Finance

79. Billeo
www.billeo.com
Windows
Install the Billeo toolbar on your Web browser and add your accounts, and you'll get fast access to assistance with online shopping, online bill payment, and reports on your spending.
Read our review of Billeo, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

80. Buxfer
www.buxfer.com
Web | Mobile
Sign up (or use an existing AOL, Facebook, Google, OpenID, or Yahoo account) to get started with trackingshared expenses, so divvying up the bills at the end of the month becomes a breeze.

81. Mint
www.mint.com
Web
Mint manages your money by sucking in data from all your bank, credit card, and other accounts, providing you regular reports on what you're spending and how to save.
Read our review of Mint.com, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

82. Wesabe
www.wesabe.com
Windows | Mac OS | Web
"Part money management tool, part community," where info—your comments about your spending—is shared (anonymously) with the group so everyone can find value. Of course, Wesabe also helps track your spending and income.

Fun/Home

83. eBay Desktop
desktop.ebay.com
Windows | Mac OS
This app, which requires Adobe Air, looks like eBay replicated on your desktop, but for power buyers it adds special functions, like not needing to refresh the page and a clock synchronized with eBay's own.

84. Geni.com
www.geni.com
Web
There's no easier place to plug in your family tree, and being a Web app makes it easy to share with the rest of the family so they can fill in the gaps.

85. Google Earth
earth.google.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
If you like Google Maps online, welcome to that same kind of action on steroids. You can traverse the globe on its interlocking satellite images, or reverse it and look skyward, even travel to the past. Third-party add-ons continue to extend Google Earth's capabilities beyond what our puny terrestrial minds can imagine.
Read our review of Google Earth 4.3, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

86. Home Inventory
www.knowyourstuff.org
Windows | Mac OS
Insurance companies ask you to inventory your possessions prior to signing up for a homeowner's or renter's policy. Create a home inventory of everything you own on this site, a service of the Insurance Information Institute, and throw in digital pictures or even scanned purchase receipts to make sure what's yours is yours.

87. Penzu
www.penzu.com
Web
Hard to believe that in the age of blogging, some people still want journals and diaries they keep to themselves. Penzu is all about making that happen, online, with privacy as the first priority.

88. Springpad
www.springpadit.com
Web
Manage your life tasks with online notebooks filled with lists, photos, notes, and maps/directions you can share with the whole family. Perfect for tracking receipts, planning meals or trips, and getting your house organized.

89. Timetoast
www.timetoast.com
Web
Ever wanted to create a timeline for your site or a presentation, but couldn't decide what tool would best display the data? Wonder no more, as Timetoast adds this useful data with an attractive flair.

Graphics

90. Artweaver
www.artweaver.de
Windows
If you want the freedom to paint, without the mess and without paying $359 for Corel Painter X, Artweaver is a good starter tool for artists.

91. DestroyFlickr
www.destroytoday.com/?p=Project&id=DestroyFlickr
Windows
This Adobe Air app puts Flickr on your desktop, but with a completely different interface. Why "destroy"? In the words of app creator Jonnie Hallman, "To destroy today is to make the most of the day—destruction as a form of creation."

92. flauntR
www.flauntr.com
Web
This online photo editor integrates with just about any picture service you can imagine, including Facebook and Flickr, and offers a suite of tools to manipulate images in ways specific to social networks and mobile handsets.

93. FastStone Image Viewer
www.faststone.org
Windows
Another image browser and converter that handles almost any file type, FastStone also has companion programs like the handy Photo Resizer, complete with a fast batch processor.

94. GIMP [HALL OF FAME]
www.gimp.org

GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) has provided Photoshop-like tools at no charge for over a decade.
Read our review of Gimp 2.4.7 .

95. Google SketchUp
sketchup.google.com
Windows | Mac OS
If you're new to 3D but want to build worlds anyway, a free tool like SketchUp is a great place to start; the latest version includes "self-aware" 3D models so the app knows, for example, to resize a virtual staircase by adding more stairs and extend a virtual fence by adding more slats.
Read our review of Google SketchUp.

96. IrfanView
www.irfanview.com
Windows
Perhaps the ultimate image viewer (with some editing tools thrown in), the latest IrfanView (version 4.20) received a nice cosmetic update. It also supports instant video and audio playback.
Read our review of IrfanView 3.85, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

97. Paint.NET
www.getpaint.net
Windows
This student project–turned–freeware masterpiece puts the power of higher-end graphics editors in anyone's hands.

98. Pencil
www.les-stooges.org/pascal/pencil
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
For the budding Chuck Jones at home, Pencil is a free way to get started in the world of traditional 2D animation–that is, draw each frame anew.

99. Picasa
picasa.google.com
Windows | Linux
Few free programs come close to handling photos with the skill of Picasa. Organize them, do quick edits (including red-eye reduction), and share pics online or e-mail them to friends.
Read our review of Picasa 3, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

100. MobaPhoto
mobaphoto-en.mobatek.net
Windows
Portability is the key here. This lightweight photo editor (only 1.6MB) puts photographs into great-looking photo galleries, and naturally has all the usual tools to fix red-eye, crop, and resize. It'll even batch-process images.

101. Photoshop Express
www.photoshop.com/express
Web
It's not the full power of Photoshop on the Web, but it does offer rudimentary editing, basic photo sharing, and 2GB of storage for your photos. Partnerships with sites like Picasa and Facebook make Photoshop Express fun as well as useful.
Read our review of Photoshop Express .

102. Photosynth
www.photosynth.com
Web
Photosynth does so many unique things with photos that we gave it a Technical Excellence award. It takes multiple photos, finds where they overlap, and creates an almost 3D image; it can even make a 3D replica of an object from shots at multiple angles.

103. Picnik
www.picnik.com
Web
Picnik is the gold standard in online image editing these days: It fixes photos without confusing users and works with a number of photo-sharing sites, and best of all, you don't have to register to get started using it—unless you want to save images online.
Read our review of Picnik.

104. Pictomio
www.pictomio.com
Windows
Handling all your photos with a simple but powerful interface, Pictomio browses in many styles—including a carousel mode similar to iTunes' Coverflow, which benefits from a good 3D video card—organizes shots, and creates instant slideshows. It will even handle audio and video.

105. Splashup
www.splashup.com
Web
You don't even need to sign up to get instant access to this Flash-based image editor with all the features (and more) that you'd find in a downloadable app.

106. SUMO Paint
www.sumo.fi/web
Web
Not every Web-based image editor can claim to be high-end, but SUMO can by carefully mimicking the look and feel of Photoshop, maybe a little too well. Try it before this free Flash app gets sued out of existence by Adobe.

IMs

107. AIM [HALL OF FAME]
www.aim.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Web | Mobile
AOL's Instant Messenger is the most-used network in the U.S., and the software—only the Windows version gets regular updates these days—packs in as much as possible. You can access the AIM network with just about any multi-protocol IM software.
Read our review of AIM 6.5 .

108. Dexrex
www.dexrex.com
Windows | Mac OS | Mobile
This add-on records your IM conversation transcripts and stores them online for later reading and analysis. It works with AIM,Digsby, Yahoo Messenger, and many others.

109. Digsby
www.digsby.com
Windows
Brand new this year, Digsby may be the ultimate way to stay in real-time touch with friends. It incorporates multiple IM networks, social networks (including Twitter), and e-mail and Web-mail notifications. You can even send mail through Digsby. Mac OS and Linux versions are promised soon.

110. Meebo
www.meebo.com
Web | Mobile
When you want to avoid installing software but still want to chat on all the major IM networks, Meebo is your site of choice. Sign up for a Meebo account to access multiple IM networks all at once and log all conversations.
Read our review of Meebo.

Interface Enhancers

111. AccelMan File Manager
www.flexigensoft.com/accelman
Windows
As much a file viewer as a file manager, AccelMan's multiple windows offer up info galore on each file and its contents. The app can even play back media files when you don't want to launch another player.

112. Desktops
technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/cc817881.aspx
Windows
Desktops is a virtual desktop manager in a small package; the app is only a 62K download. Personalize hotkeys for quick switches between desktops.

113. DExposE2
devrexster.googlepages.com/dexpose2
Windows
This app is a Windows clone of the Mac interface treat Exposé, which makes opening and closing apps and getting to the desktop a fast process. Windows XP and Vista users can also set up DExposE2 to work on multiple monitors.

114. Emerge Desktop
emergedesktop.org
Windows
You think the Windows desktop looks too busy with that system tray, Taskbar, and Start button? EmergeDesktop does away with them all, replacing the Windows shell (the interface, that is) with the minuscule emergeTray. Launch apps with a right click, or couple Emerge Desktop with a launcher like ObjectDock.

115. GreenPrint
www.printgreener.com
Windows | Mac OS
Stop printing that extra blank page when you need a hard copy of a Web page, or for any printout. GreenPrint saves the paper, even letting you output a PDF sans the blank sheets. A tree somewhere will thank you.
Read our review of GreenPrint .

116. muCommander
www.mucommander.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Mobile
muCommander is unique: It's a file manager that looks the same on all operating systems. A standard dual-pane, it also has support for archived files, FTPs, and previews files.

117. PlacesBar Tweaker
www.ioisland.com/placesbar
Windows
Every time you open or save a file in Windows XP, the dialog box gives you a few select options, like Desktop or My Documents, to choose from in the Places bar. You can personalize that list with this tweaker, putting your most-used folders in the lineup.

118. RBTray
moitah.net
Windows
RBTray does one thing and does it well: It makes it possible to minimize any application you like to the system tray as an icon, rather than as a taskbar button, without even doing a full install (RBTray can run from a thumb drive).

119. StandaloneStack
www.chrisnsoft.com/standalonestack
Windows
Mac OS X Leopard introduced cool towers of icons to the interface, with shortcuts to frequently accessed folders, called stacks. Now you can put stacks in Windows as well. There's even an add-on to put stacks on the RocketDock launcher.

120. Start++
www.brandontools.com/content/StartPlusPlus.aspx
Windows
A nice addition in Vista to the Windows environment was the Start Menu's search box. Start++ turbocharges it with extras like online searches with results in the menu, and its own set of widgets and plug-ins (for example, displaying the weather is an option).

121. TrayEverything
www.winapizone.net/software/trayeverything
Windows
You've got a lot of applications open, but only so much space in your Taskbar... so why not minimize them directly to the system tray on the lower right-hand side of your screen? TrayEverything will do it for you.

122. UltraExplorer
www.mustangpeak.net/ultraexplorer.html
Windows
Another replacement for Windows Explorer, this one sports a command-line interface to go with the dual-pane view of files, plus a preview window so you can quickly check the contents of a file before opening it.

123. Yahoo Widgets
widgets.yahoo.com
Windows | Mac OS
The world's biggest collection of widgets—over 5,000 of the things—is yours through Yahoo. Some are more useful than others, but with the right combo your desktop can be an information powerhouse.

Local Search

124. Google Desktop
desktop.google.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Put the power of Google's search engine to work on finding your own files. The software indexes in the background, while in the foreground you get to put all the Google Gadgets (widgets) you like on your desktop.
Read our review of Google Desktop 4 (beta).

125. Everything
www.voidtools.com
Windows
Don't need the extras? Everything really does just one thing in its small package: It indexes your PC in real time for lightning-fast search.

126. Locate32
www.locate32.net
Windows
The Locate32 project is all about indexing the contents of your hard drives and other storage to run fast finds on local data.

Office

127. Adobe Buzzword
www.buzzword.com
Web
This online-only word processor has one of the best-looking minimalist interfaces going, since it was built entirely with Adobe Flash, and each page looks as good as any formatted in Word.
Read our review of Adobe Buzzword .

128. blist
www.blist.com
Web
Web lists (aka "blists") are little databases for all your data needs. The Flash interface makes this fast for newbies and powerful enough for everyone else. You can even put your blists on your blog or social network pages.

129. EtherPad
etherpad.com
Web
You don't even have to sign up to create a new pad, a shareable text document stored online for you by EtherPad. Don't expect fancy formatting, but do expect real-time, color-coded editing between all collaborators.

130. Evernote
www.evernote.com
Windows | Mac OS | Mobile | Web
Take a clipping of anything you see—online or off—for later reference. Built-in OCR makes text inside images searchable.

131. GMDesk
www.robertnyman.com/gmdesk/
Windows
Bring Google's Web apps to the desktop with this site-specific browser interface that requires Adobe Air. You'll have access to Gmail, Google Reader, and Google Docs just as you would in a browser, but GMDesk stays alive when your browser crashes.

132. Google Docs
docs.google.com
Web | Mobile
If you're ready to move your work life to the cloud, Google's word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation suite is ready for you, complete with storage for all docs. It also comes with forms you can fill out to gather data from outside.
Read our review of Google Docs, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

133. Incollector
www.incollector.devnull.pl
Windows | Linux
Note-taking doesn't have to hog the whole desktop, or even the whole browser window. Incollector runs in the background, letting you call up a new note page from the system tray when you want, tag it, and easily find it later.

134. Jarte
www.jarte.com
Windows
No one loves the Notepad included in Windows, and there are many replacements. Jarte goes most of them one better, being completely self-contained and portable (you can run it from a thumb drive!).

135. KompoZer
www.kompozer.net
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
This free WYSIWYG Web page authoring package builds on the abandoned Nvu project. It supports CSS, file management (including FTP), and tabs for multiple pages.

136. Lotus Symphony
symphony.lotus.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
IBM's entry into the world of office suites is based on OpenOffice, and is currently in beta for Mac and Linux. It covers the three big suite tools: word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets.
Read our review of Lotus Symphony .

137. LucidChart
www.lucidchart.com
Web
Why make flowcharts complicated? This Web app goes back to basics with simple, black-and-white charts that anyone can make—and better yet, anyone else can easily understand.

138. NeoOffice
www.neooffice.com
Mac OS
NeoOffice comes with most of the same tools as the Mac version of OpenOffice but carries a more Apple-friendly look and feel.

139. Notepad++ [HALL OF FAME]
notepad-plus.sourceforge.net
Windows
Notepad++ is the standard by which all replacements for Notepad—that weak little app that comes with Windows—are measured. It sports full text styles, tabs, drag-and-drop, and super-speed and is suitable for any coding or writing you can throw at it.

140. OpenOffice [HALL OF FAME]
www.openoffice.org
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Solaris
Version 3 of the freebie office suite ups the ante against Microsoft's hegemony, becoming fast and polished enough to warrant serious consideration by all, especially small businesses. It looks like MS Office 2003 (for those not in love with the Ribbon interface in Office 2007) and has all the tools—except e-mail—you'll ever need.
Read our Review of OpenOffice.org 3.0 .

141. SlideRocket
www.sliderocket.com
Web
Promising more than PowerPoint and Keynote is bold, but this Web-only presentation tool seems to deliver the goods with amazing animations, support for embedded video, and 3D transitions between slides.

142. SoftMaker Office 2006
www.softmakeroffice.com
Windows
This free version is meant to entice you to upgrade to the 2008 version, but if all you need is basic text editing and a spreadsheet, you're set.

143. Springnote
www.springnote.com
Web | Mobile
Whether you want a personal notebook or a shareable group notebook, this wiki-based note-taking site could give Microsoft's OneNote a run for its money.

144. Widgenie
www.widgenie.com
Web
Sick of making meh-looking graphs in Excel? Visualize the same data through Widgenie and create a beautiful graph widget, even one with animation, that you can share online. Text clouds, artful presentations of the most popular words on a page, are always a favorite with bloggers.

145. Zoho
www.zoho.com
Web | Mobile
If there's a tool in the arsenal of office suites that Zoho doesn't include, we can't think of it. Not all the Web apps are free, but those that are—word processor, spreadsheet tool, presentation app, mail, wiki, and many more—all bring the goods.
Read our review of Zoho .

Operating Systems

146. gOS 3.0 Gadgets
www.thinkgos.com
Linux
With its emphasis on easy access to tools from Google, it's easy to see why some think of this lightweight Linux—renowned for powering cheap PCs from Wal-Mart—as the Google OS.

147. pure:dyne
code.goto10.org/projects/puredyne
Linux
Consider this the creative Linux distro: Boot just about any Intel PC (even MacBooks) from a Live CD with pure:dyne, and you'll get instant access to free tools for editing audio, video, and images (many already in this story).

148. Ubuntu [HALL OF FAME]
www.ubuntu.com
Linux
The easiest Linux to install, now in version 8.10 (aka "Intrepid Ibex"), not only is suitable for (somewhat knowledgeable) consumers, but also comes with all the software you need to be productive.
Read our review of Ubuntu 8.04 .

Networking

149. AirSnare
home.comcast.net/~jay.deboer/airsnare
Windows
Turn your Wi-Fi–equipped laptop into an info sniffer. AirSnare pulls down info on computers and game consoles and just about any device on the network, even delivering devices' MAC addresses.

150. AirRadar
www.koingosw.com/products/airradar.php
Mac OS
AirRadar goes beyond what the Wi-Fi utility in Mac OS X can do by showing extras like signal strength and the 802.11 network's channel.

151. Axence NetTools
www.axencesoftware.com
Windows
Want a quick look at everything happening on your home network? NetTools scans the network, and reports back on what ports are in use and the inbound and outbound connections. You can use it to test your networking connections over TCP or UDP protocols.

152. GBridge
www.gbridge.com
Windows
Set up a relatively painless VPN between computers for sharing and syncing files and folders, using your Google account as the connection point (though Gbridge is not affiliated with Google).

153. InSSIDer
www.metageek.net/products/inssider
Windows
Taking up where the venerable NetStumbler left off, InSSIDer is a Wi-Fi network scanner that runs under Vista and XP— even the 64-bit versions. You can use it to find out what's wrong with local 802.11 networks.

154. LogMeIn Hamachi
secure.logmein.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Set up a secure tunnel between two PCs using a virtual private network (VPN), just like the ones the pros use to access the server at work. Only this one is free.
Read our review of Hamachi for Windows .

155. NetSetMan
www.netsetman.com
Windows
Stop using Vista's convoluted interface to change network settings. NetSetMan takes over and creates profiles for different networks you might connect with, changing your need for static or dynamic IPs, or hostnames or workgroups, on the fly. If you've got multiple network cards, NetSetMan is a huge help.

156. Network Notepad
www.networknotepad.com
Windows
It's more than a notepad: This software is specific to creating flowcharts of your network layout. Put in the IP address for each device and you can use the interface to quickly ping devices to confirm they're online.

157. PrinterAnywhere
www.printeranywhere.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Why print just to your printer? This utility lets you print to any printer on the Internet (through another PC with PrinterAnywhere installed), or you can open your printer to others.

RSS Readers

158. Google Reader
reader.google.com
Web | Mobile
After three years, Google's RSS feed reader is tops, not only mimicking the best of what desktop readers can do but also mashing up nicely with other Google services, like the iGoogle home page.
Read our review of Google Reader.

159. Netvibes
www.netvibes.com
Web
A personalized start page with an emphasis on widgets and feed readers, Netvibes also aggregates podcasts for you.
Read our review of NetVibes.

160. FeedDemon
www.newsgator.com/Individuals/FeedDemon
Windows
The preeminent desktop newsreader for Windows was recently overhauled to be faster and easier, while remaining extremely customizable to suit how you read feeds.
Read our review of FeedDemon, a PCMag.com Editors' Choice.

161. NetNewsWire
www.newsgator.com/individuals/netnewswire
Mac OS | Mobile
FeedDemon's sibling on the Macintosh platform has updated its interface and more, and now integrates with several other Mac apps like iCal and iPhoto to help you share as well as read.

162. RSS Bandit
rssbandit.org
Windows
Directly sync this reader with your online feeds at Google Reader or NewsGator Online. You'll get fast browsing on the desktop, but still have access to your feeds over the Web using other PCs.

163. Snarfer
www.snarfware.com
Windows
It won't win awards for visual innovation, but Snarfer does provide simplicity. It's arguably the best way to handle straight-up RSS info gathering and reading, and it's available in over 20 languages.

Synchronization

164. Dropbox
www.getdropbox.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux | Web
One of the few sync/backup tools to support Linux (Fedora and Ubuntu), Dropbox always gets kudos for its design and simple setup. Online backup space is free for up to 2GB.

165. Windows Live Sync
sync.live.com
Windows | Mac OS | Web
The replacement for FolderShare continues to do one thing and do it well: sync folders (up to 20) across multiple PCs over the Internet.

166. Windows Live Mesh
www.mesh.com
Windows | Mac OS | Mobile | Web
Microsoft's latest method for syncing folders on different PCs does FolderShare one better by including 5GB of online storage accessible from any PC, plus the ability to mesh special collaborative applications (like a group crossword puzzle!).

167. Syncplicity
www.syncplicity.com
Windows | Mobile | Web
Synchronize up to 10,000 files (or 2GB, whichever comes first) on up to two computers free. Sign up friends and you can add another 1GB per new user recruited.

168. Mozilla Weave
services.mozilla.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
A product of Mozilla Labs, Weave is meant to synchronize anything and everything related to Firefox among all the computers you use, plus extend some features to others for sharing. Registration is closed as of this writing, but should be back soon.

Video

169. CamStudio
www.camstudio.org
Windows
This open-source program for capturing videos of your screen turns what you do on your desktop, as well as the audio to go with it, into a movie, suitable for future demonstrations.

170. HandBrake
www.handbrake.fr
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Want to back up all those DVDs you own before they get scratched? This open-source tool does full DVD-to-MPEG-4 conversion, which you can play back later on media centers, even the Apple TV.

171. Miro
www.getmiro.com
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
Miro's a video player that promises to play back just about any video media file, organize files in playlists, and incorporate BitTorrent downloading to become a de facto PC-based TiVo.

172. TipCam
www.utipu.com/app
Windows
Another tool for capturing videos of your desktop, TipCam lets you take big, beautiful videos (up to 800 by 600 pixels)—you can even zoom in on specifics—and upload them direct to YouTube. Frequent users can get an account to store and display up to 250MB of video.

173. VLC media player
www.videolan.org/vlc
Windows | Mac OS | Linux
VideoLAN's open-source software plays back, well, just about everything. It can also serve up streaming video and music to other PCs on your network.

The festival of free software doesn't have to end! Skim through last year's compilation of free software, or take a look at these other app collections for various other platforms.

• The Best Free Software '08

• Free iPhone apps

The Best Free Software 2008

2009-06-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

The Best Free Software 2008
ARTICLE DATE: 02.08.08

By Eric Griffith and PCMag.com Staff

Buzz up!on Yahoo!Buzz up!on Yahoo!

Note: We've just released our newest collection of the best free software—the 2009 edition! Click on over for 173 other pieces of software to unlock the real potential of your PC…for free.

We did the math: If you bought popular apps instead of trying their gratis counter-parts, at the manufacturers' list prices you'd be out $5,183 and change! Why spend money when you can get what you need for nothing? Sometimes, you do get what you don't pay for.

Hall of Fame

Adobe Reader
www.adobe.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | MobileThis simplest of Adobe's PDF programs lets you do just about anything PDF-related (besides create new ones), including online collaboration. It includes a host of features to aid users with disabilities.

AIM
www.aim.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | WebOne of the most widely used pieces of free software ever, AOL Instant Messenger offers a ton of capabilities.
Read our full review of AIM 6.5.

Audacity
audacity.sourceforge.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux Whether you're recording or editing, Audacity is all about audio in practically any format.

Firefox
www.mozilla.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux This PC Mag Editors' Choice Web browser has been on top of the heap since version 1.5 came out in late 2005.Read our full review of Firefox 2.0.

GIMP
www.gimp.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) does most of what Photoshop does; the Gimpshop project (plasticbugs.com) even makes it look like Photoshop. Read our full review of The GIMP 2.0.

iTunes
www.apple.com/itunes
Windows | MacOS When you're attached to the top media player in the land (iPod), success is a given. iTunes continues to build sales and refine its organization of songs, video, games, podcasts, and more. Read our full review of Apple iTunes 7.6.

OpenOffice.org
www.openoffice.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux You can spend a lot for Microsoft Office or nothing for this suite with full-function word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, even an equations editor. Read our full review ofOpenOffice.org 2.3.

Skype
www.skype.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux You'll pay to call regular phones, but if you sign up all your friends, Skype provides easy (and even international) calls and video-conferencing for nothing. Read our full review of Skype 3.0.

Thunderbird
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Windows | MacOS | Linux Mozilla's no-cost e-mail alternative is extensible, fast, and easy to master. And a wealth of free add-ons means there's not much this program won't do, from calendars to encryption. Read our full review of Thunderbird 2.

Ubuntu
www.ubuntu.com
Linux This Linux-based OS comes with many of these Hall of Fame products (Firefox, OpenOffice.org) preinstalled.

WinAmp
www.winamp.com
Windows After a decade of playing music, the "skinnable" WinAmp has several versions, including one with full CD ripping and burning.

Operating Systems

ajaxWindows
www.ajaxwindows.com
Web A virtual operating system (aka Web OS), it uses Asynchronous Java-Script and XML (AJAX) programming to mimic the look and feel of a Windows desktop in Firefox or IE. It stores files (using Gmail) and runs its own applications, plus Web apps like Meebo and Google Maps. If you can launch a Web browser, you can get work done through ajaxWindows.

eyeOS
eyeos.info
Web This Web OS has ultra-simplified applications, including an RSS reader, satellite maps, a word processor, even a browser—yes, for browsing the Web while on the Web.

Freespire 2.0
www.freespire.org
Linux This community-driven OS is based on Linspire (formerly Lindows)—a Linux distro that looks like Windows, with an emphasis on compatibility with other platforms.

Glide
www.glidedigital.com
Web | Flash Sleek style sets this Web OS apart, as does the ability (using a separate utility) to sync files, bookmarks, and e-mail from your real OS. Read our full review of Glide Effortless.

gOS
www.thinkgos.com
Linux Ubuntu-based and powered by Google's apps (just don't call it Google OS), gOS comes with the $200 PCs from Wal-Mart, but you can download it for any PC.

Antivirus/Anti-Malware

avast! 4 Home Edition
www.avast.com
Windows Spiffy-looking avast! notifies you by e-mail or IM if it catches a virus. You can't schedule scans, but its recovery database can help if a virus damages your files.
Read our full review of avast! 4 Home Edition.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
free.grisoft.com
Windows Its control center is awkward, but AVG scans files on demand, upon access, on a schedule, and in e-mail. Its rescue disks will help you recover from disaster.
Read our full review of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition.

Avira AntiVir Personal Edition Classic
www.free-av.com
Windows AntiVir scans files on demand, upon access, and on a schedule; it doesn't scan e-mail attachments until they're saved, but it does go to work on rootkits. It's especially good at coexisting with other security software. Like most good AV software, it has the Virus Bulletin's VB100% award and certification for virus detection from ICSA Labs.
Read our full review of Avira AntiVir Premium Security Suite.

HijackThis
www.trendsecure.com
Windows Run HijackThis, save a log, and then post the log on sites that support the program. You'll quickly get personalized expert help to remove any malware.

NanoScan
www.nanoscan.com
Windows | Web In less than a minute, NanoScan can analyze all processes running on your computer and identify viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, or other malicious programs.

ThreatFire AntiVirus
www.threatfire.com
Windows ThreatFire detects the bad guys by their behavior, not by outdated virus signatures. It's surprisingly accurate and a good companion to standard antivirus apps.
Read our full review of ThreatFire 3.

Trend Micro HouseCall
housecall.trendmicro.com
Windows Use the venerable HouseCall online scanner to get a second opinion, or use the app for cleanup when malware prevents installation of a local antivirus utility.

Firewalls

Comodo Firewall Pro
www.personalfirewall.comodo.com
Windows This protective dragon for XP and Vista keeps hackers out of your system, controls which programs can access the Net (its whitelist of about one million means you get fewer pop-ups), and blocks tricky "leak test" techniques. It's both tough and good-looking.
Read our full review of Comodo Firewall Pro.

ShieldsUP!
www.grc.com
Windows | Web Be sure your fire-walls are keeping your always-on Internet connection hidden from attackers. Shields-UP! provides a quick confirmation.
Read our full review of ShieldsUP!.

SmoothWall Express
www.smoothwall.org
Linux Got a spare PC running a Pentium 200 MHz or higher with 128MB of RAM? Turn it into a dedicated network firewall with this open-source download.

ZoneAlarm Free
www.zonealarm.com
Windows The free edition remains a useful protector against hack attacks and against programs that abuse your Internet connection.

Security

EULAlyzer
www.javacoolsoftware.com
Windows Wonder what you're agreeing to when you click "I Accept"? Don't worry; just drag EULAlyzer's target icon onto the EULA for a quick report on any troublesome language.
Read our full review of EULAlyzer Personal 1.1.

Hotspot Shield
www.anchorfree.com
Windows Create an instant virtual private network (VPN) tunnel between your laptop and the router at any Wi-Fi hot spot to protect your data from snoops on the public airwaves, even if you're using extra encryption. If you're on a network that limits the use of certain apps (such as Skype), the VPN could give you unfettered access. It even works with your wired connection for an extra layer of security.

Kruptos 2
www.kruptos2.co.uk
Windows Kruptos makes a file accessible only to someone who knows the password; it includes a file shredder.

PC Flank
www.pcflank.com
Windows | Web While ShieldsUP! tests your firewall's ability to stealth all ports, PC Flank performs surgical strikes that emulate specific malware attacks to verify that your firewall blocks them.

SendShield
www.sendshield.com
Windows This Outlook add-on strips out extra info and tracked changes in Word documents attached to messages.

Finance

mint
www.mint.com
Web Mint isn't like Quicken, where you enter in all your transactions. Instead, it syncs with your bank and credit card accounts online, checks your spending habits, and tells you how to improve to save money. If you're not paying attention to your spending, it'll send you regular alerts to inform you where your money has gone (nice for making sure you haven't been ripped off).

GnuCash
www.gnucash.org
Linux Linux users can track their bank accounts, stocks, and expenses in this financial program using a double-entry accounting method.

Office

AbiWord
www.abiword.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Volunteers keep this open-source word processor alive. It closely mimics the look and feel of Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier.
Read the full review of AbiWord 2.0.

Gliffy
www.gliffy.com
Web | Flash An online-only diagramming tool with more options than you can flowchart. The free version is limited to five diagrams.

Google Docs
docs.google.com
Web | Mobile Google's slickly designed office suite offers online shared word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations-and best of all, finally a solid alternative in the office-suite space to the totally dominating Microsoft. Upload or e-mail your current documents for storage and editing.
Read the full review of Google Docs.

IBM Lotus Symphony
symphony.lotus.com
Web | Mobile A much prettier version of OpenOffice.org, Symphony is prepped for presentations, spreadsheets, and word processing in a single window (but lacks OO's drawing and database modules).
Read the full review of IBM Lotus Symphony Beta.

KompoZer
www.kompozer.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux A full WYSIWYG Web-page authoring tool akin to Dreamweaver, KompoZer integrates an FTP site manager for file uploads.

NeoOffice
www.neooffice.com
MacOS This version of OpenOffice.org has the same great tools and price (free), but with an interface designed specifically for the Mac OS.

Notepad++
notepad-plus.sourceforge.net
Windows Notepad++ handles text--especially source code-in ways the basic Windows Notepad could only dream of, with embellishments like tabs and color coding.
Read the full review of Notepad++.

Scribus
www.scribus.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux This open-source page layout tool has features comparable to big names like PAgemaker, plus support for PDFs and scalable vector graphics (SVG).

Windows Live Mail
get.live.com
Windows Live Mail not only reads your Hotmail, but also can check POP, IMAP, or HTTP mail accounts. It works as an RSS feed reader and a newsreader.

Zoho
www.zoho.com
Web | Mobile Zoho features every tool you could want-word processing, spreadsheet, presentations, database, even a wiki-and several you never knew you needed. Some are also available off-line.
Read the full review of Zoho.

Calendar/PIMs

Plaxo
www.plaxo.com
Web Perhaps the ultimate online address book, Plaxo is enhanced with the superpowers of a social network and plug-ins for many Web-based services like Flickr, YouTube, Twitter and LiveJournal for sharing across the Internet.

Backpack
www.backpackit.com
Web Backpack is more than a to-do list site. Your five easy-to-update pages send reminders via e-mail or SMS and include a whiteboard for online collaboration.
Read the full review of Backpack.

EssentialPIM Free
www.essentialpim.com
Windows Imagine taking the e-mail out of Microsoft Outlook to get a killer personal information manager (PIM). That's what EssentialPIM is all about.

Google Calendar
calendar.google.com
Web | Mobile Featuring seamless integration with other Google products, sharing capabilities, and SMS reminders, this Web app does for calendars what Google did for search.
Read the full review of Google Calendar.

Lightning
www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning
Windows | MacOS | Linux To be more like Microsoft Outlook, Thunderbird needs a calendar. Lightning provides that, plus a to-do list. It can even sync with Google Calendar.

Power Calculator
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx Windows This XP-only PowerToy replaces the lame Windows calculator with a mathematical powerhouse.

Remember The Milk
www.rememberthemilk.com
Web | Mobile Never forget another grocery item, or anything else, using this extensible online task manager. It'll send reminders via e-mail, SMS, and IM.

Sunbird
www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird
Windows | MacOS | Linux Sunbird is Mozilla's standalone calendar for tracking events and upcoming tasks. It's a sister to Lightning, which adds the same functions to Thunderbird.

30 Boxes
www.30boxes.com
Web One of the best-looking online calendars, 30 Boxes features easy-to-grasp pop-ups for adding events and viewing schedule details.

Yahoo! Calendar
calendar.yahoo.com
Web Track your schedule and share it with friends, then sync your calendar with Outlook or your phone. It's a great place to back up a handheld.

Backup/Sync

Allway Sync
www.allwaysync.com
Windows Sync files between your PC and an external drive, filtering by folder, file name, or file type. The program displays warnings about questionable files before syncing.

DriveImage XML
www.runtime.org
Windows Make an image of your entire hard drive for backup and restore purposes.

FolderShare
www.foldershare.com
Windows | MacOS Install the utility on multiple computers, create an online account where you identify each computer, and pick folders to synchronize. Up-to-date data becomes available on all those PCs whenever you make a change in a folder, with sync taking place in the background so you're never disturbed, just happy to find your files wherever you work.
Read the full review of FolderShare.

MozyHome Free
www.mozy.com
Windows | MacOS MozyHome provides automatic online backup for up to 2GB of your data.

PassPack
www.passpack.com
Web Pack away all your passwords in this secure online vault; it even logs you in to Web sites.

SyncToy v2.0
www.microsoft.com/downloads
Windows Make sure folders across your networked computers contain the same files, even on drives that change location and name.

WinClone
www.twocanoes.com
MacOS Bootcamp users: Now you can clone (back up) your Windows XP/Vista partition for reinstall on a new Mac.

App Launchers

Launchy
www.launchy.net
Windows Launchy launches (duh) applications, files, folders, or searches via a command-line-esque interface.

ObjectDock
www.stardock.com
Windows Organize your application shortcuts in a toolbar that mimics the look and feel of the Macintosh dock, complete with icon animations. It will even mimic Windows Taskbar buttons. Add in extras (docklets) like real-time clock and weather forecasts, even a fully functional Windows Start button and Recycle Bin, to get everything you need.

QuickSilver
www.blacktree.com
MacOS This open-source launcher takes plug-ins that allow it to do almost anything you want in the MacOS.

Utilities

Absolute Uninstaller
www.glarysoft.com
Windows Replace the Add/Remove Programs control panel in XP to get batch uninstalls and clear out leftovers that Windows frequently misses when uninstalling.

CCleaner
www.ccleaner.com
Windows The extra C is for crap, and that's what CCleaner gets rid of: all the detritus left behind in the course of using Windows.

CoolMon
www.coolmon.org
Windows CoolMon displays all of your system's vital statistics, including use of your CPU, RAM, and hard drives, internal PC temperature, and more.

Defraggler
www.defraggler.com
Windows Defragment your entire hard drive-or just one heavily fragmented file at a time.

DriverView
www.nirsoft.net
Windows DriverView lists every single device driver running on your system, with extra info on each.

Eraser
www.heidi.ie/eraser
Windows Shredders are popular in the office, so why not have the digital equivalent? Eraser adds a right-click menu that will do away with a file or folder forever.

FileZilla
www.filezilla-project.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux Download this FTP client for accessing multiple sites or to use as an FTP server. In both cases, FileZilla has convenient drag-and-drop support.

Glary Utilities
www.glaryutilities.com
Windows Glary offers a ton of utilities for cleaning, optimizing, and securing Windows in one package.

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007
www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc
Windows Install anything-DOS, OS/2, or any earlier version of Windows-as a virtual machine. It'll run in a separate window on your Vista or XP desktop.
Read the full review of Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.

SandBoxie
www.sandboxie.com
Web Place a layer of "transient storage"-a sandbox-between your applications and your hard disk to stay safe.

SecureZIP
www.securezip.com
Windows Compress and decompress files on the fly, even in e-mail through Outlook integration, and encrypt archives as desired.

Task Killer
www.rsdsoft.com
Windows Stop any Windows process dead; this is handy for clearing frozen applications.

TinkerTool
www.bresink.com
MacOS Get access to additional preference settings in Mac OS X to turn on hidden features.

Uniblue ProcessScanner
www.processlibrary.com
Windows | Web You can do the Ctrl-Alt-Delete salute in Windows to see what's bogging down your PC, but can you understand the results? ProcessScanner, coupled with the online Process Library, provides extra information on each process (like whether it autostarts or not, and who makes the software in question), and even lists the security risk to your system for running it.

Downloads

BitLet.org
www.bitlet.org
Web Who needs a BitTorrent client? Just find the torrent metafile link on a tracker site, plug it in at BitLet.org, and let it retrieve the file as if you were downloading it from a regular Web site.

Universal Extractor
www.legroom.net
Windows See what's inside any archive file—ZIP, RAR, even EXE.

uTorrent
www.utorrent.com
Windows The tiniest BitTorrent client around (only 214K) comes with all the torrent download features you crave.

Interface Enhancement

Battery Status
users.rcn.com/tmtalpey/BattStat
Windows This app runs in the system tray and takes advantage of smart battery support in XP/Vista to provide loads of info on laptop-power usage.

Google Desktop
desktop.google.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Let Google index and search your hard drive contents. The sidebar adds graphical widgets to your desktop.

miniMIZE
aquaria.za.net
Windows miniMIZE puts thumbnails of your minimized applications on the desktop for easier access.

Quero Toolbar 4
www.quero.at
Windows Replace the Internet Explorer address bar to integrate ad blocking and make IE7 look more like IE6.

Vista Drive Icon
drvicon.sourceforge.net
Windows Add one of Vista's best features to XP: smart drive icons showing the current capacity of each hard drive.

XYplorer
www.xyplorer.com
Windows Multiple tabs and improved search enhance and replace the boring old Windows Explorer.

Yahoo! Widgets
widgets.yahoo.com
Windows | MacOS Fill your desktop with tiny interfaces for everything from stock picks to RSS feeds to weather forecasts (using Doppler radar!) to Wi-Fi sensors to remote desktops to countdown clocks-to name a few. Pick from over 4,300; some are more useful than others, but almost all are interesting to look at.

File View/Conversion

Foxit Reader
www.foxitsoftware.com
Windows Perhaps the fastest PDF reader around, Foxit includes a free annotation tool. Add-ons enable support for new file formats and UI languages.

Samuraj Data
view.samurajdata.se
Web You can display PDF files in your Web browser when no other reader is available.

ScanR.com
scanr.com
Web | Mobile Instantly perform optical character recognition (OCR) on pictures by e-mailing them from your phone to ScanR.com.

YouConvertIt.com
youconvertit.com
Web This site turns just about any file into a different kind of file, even online videos from YouTube. It also converts units of energy, force, length, and more.

ZamZar
www.zamzar.com
Web File conversion is no longer a complete nightmare. Just go to ZamZar, upload a file, choose from a long list of extensions (including image, doc, music, video, and compression types), and enter your e-mail address. When it's done, ZamZar will send you the converted file.

Networking

LogMeIn Hamachi
secure.logmein.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Instantly create a free, peer-to-peer VPN connection between your computer and other people's. Download the software, create a network with a unique name, give it to friends you want to join, and start sharing files with them—even your iTunes folder.

NetStumbler
www.netstumbler.com
Windows Use it to detect any Wi-Fi network in your vicinity and see if it's open for use, or just use it to troubleshoot your own.

PrinterAnywhere
www.printeranywhere.com
Windows Share your printer with others over the Web; in turn, send jobs to other shared printers, no matter their location.

Blogging

Blogger
www.blogger.com
Web | Mobile Blogger was one of the first blog-publishing tools. Years after Google bought it, it remains one of the best, especially for newbies. Create a brain-dead simple weblog and let Blogger host it (with a blogspot.com name) using the slew of provided templates, or use it to publish a blog on your own domain.

w.bloggar
www.wbloggar.com
Windows This post and template editor can handle multiple blogs, across multiple blogging systems.

Windows Live Writer
get.live.com
Windows Live Writer is not a word processor, but a universal, WYSIWYG blog-posting tool more powerful than most blog services' own tools.

WordPress
www.wordpress.com
Web It lacks the simplicity of Blogger or Vox, but the commercial offshoot of WordPress.org offers some of the best tools of any hosted blogging service.

RSS Readers

Bloglines
www.bloglines.com
Web | Mobile Keeping track of your daily Web news reading can be a nightmare. This Ask.com-owned news aggregator is one of the cleanest and most straightforward methods for keeping your RSS feeds under control, and the new beta version features a great new interface that steals some of the best features of Google Reader.

Google Reader
reader.google.com
Web | Mobile Google Reader is arguably the best RSS/newsfeed reader on the Internet. Read feeds while off-line or on your mobile phone.

Netvibes
www.netvibes.com
Web This is a handsome combination of online RSS reader and podcast aggregator, with some widget apps thrown in.

Instant Messaging

Meebo.com
www.meebo.com
Web This polished Web app aggregates your AOL, Gmail, ICQ, Jabber, Windows, and Yahoo! buddy lists into a single, Web-based instant-messaging and chat-room experience. Meebo is building in extras, such as games you can play with IM buddies, as well as video and audio chat you'd find with your regular IM client software.

Pidgin
www.pidgin.im
Windows | Linux Open source tackles instant messaging in this client, which supports more IM networks than you've ever heard of.

Trillian
www.ceruleanstudios.com
Windows Access all your IM accounts (AIM, ICQ, Windows Messenger, Yahoo!, and more) from a single interface that also logs all your conversations, if you desire.

Communication

GizmoProject
www.gizmoproject.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Gizmo competes with Skype to offer free, peer-to-peer, over-the-Internet phone and video calls, but uses open standards.

Gmail
www.gmail.com
Web | Mobile What to do with nearly limitless e-mail storage space—that's the enviable quandary of Gmail users, who can store up to 5.5GB worth of e-mail and chats. And the amount is constantly growing. Other perks include advanced search options, real-time updates, and "conversations," in which e-mail chains are stored in one continuous thread for easy perusal.

Mail Redirect
addons.mozilla.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux This add-on for Thunderbird lets you bounce a message to the proper recipient without revealing that you got the message first.

ooVoo
www.oovoo.com
Windows | MacOS ooVoo video chat is more P2P than Skype (no supernodes!), with a better picture. It supports up to six co-videoconferencers, file transfers, and group text chat.

SightSpeed
www.sightspeed.com
Windows | MacOS SightSpeed has better video quality than ooVoo, but in a less attractive interface. More than two video chatters will cost you, as will file transfer and group chat.

Audio

Juice
http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux Aggregate all your favorite podcasts in one place for easy listening.

Levelator
www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator
Windows | MacOS | Linux Levelator adjusts the levels of your audio files to give the perfect balance.

Reaper
www.cockos.com/reaper
Windows | MacOS The name is short for Rapid Environment for Audio Production, Engineering, and Recording. That pretty much says it all.

Wavosaur
www.wavosaur.com
Web A low-price and low-profile audio editor, Wavosaur doesn't even need installation. Just click the executable to start processing and recording sounds. It lacks some of the features of full programs like Audacity, but for quick-and-dirty MP3 editing it can't be beat.

Video

Cinelerra
www.osalt.com/cinelerra
Linux This is professional video-editing software for the Linux crowd.

Eyespot.com
www.eyespot.com
Web Upload your clips, mix via drag-and-drop, and share your finished videos in one spot.

HandBrake
handbrake.m0k.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux Convert your DVDs to MPEG-4 video (or just the audio) for backup purposes.

Jing
www.jingproject.com
Windows | MacOSx Jing shares what's showing on your monitor with others online, or records it for future viewing.

Jumpcut.com
www.jumpcut.com
Web This online app provides Flash-powered video editing.

Miro
www.getmiro.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Miro combines BitTorrent downloads with video playback to become the next best thing to your DVR.

MythTV
www.mythtv.org
Linux Use your Linux box as a homespun digital video recorder (DVR).

Songbird
www.songbirdnest.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux The open-source answer to iTunes (from the makers of WinAmp) plays your music and videos.

TVersity
www.tversity.com
Windows Turn your computer into a server to stream video and audio to just about any device on your network.

Ustream.tv
www.ustream.tv
Web Our reviews call this the absolute easiest way to broadcast live video from your webcam across the Internet.

Videora Converter
www.videora.com
Windows Convert nearly any video you can find online (or on DVD) for use on any video-capable iPod or iPhone.

VLC media player
www.videolan.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux Forget Windows Media Player. VideoLAN's open-source VLC can replace it, and nearly every other player, too. VLC supports almost every audio format and video codec imaginable and doubles as a server for streaming your music and video to other PCs. Change its skin to make it look like the player you want—even WMP.

YouTube Uploader
www.youtube.com/multifile_installer
Windows | MacOS If you've got a lot of YouTube videos ready to go online, upload them to the site all at once with the Uploader.

Graphics

IrfanView
www.irfanview.com
Windows IrfanView previews images (or even audio and video) and then converts or optimizes them without opening a separate editor.

Paint.NET
www.getpaint.net
Windows This program is probably the closest thing to Photoshop you can get free, courtesy of a student project.

Picasa
www.picasa.com
Windows | Linux Google's photo manager makes it easy to get pictures off a digital camera, organize them, and even edit and share them.

Picnik
www.picnik.com
Web | Flash Instantly edit pictures in this Web site. Upload images from your computer, Flickr, Picasa, or elsewhere.

pikifx.com
pikifx.com
Web Another online pic editor, pikifx.com emphasizes special effects such as added text and borders.

rsizr.com
rsizr.com
Web | Flash With one of the best Web interfaces yet—all in Flash—rsizr.com incorporates smart resizing to avoid distortion.

Splashup
www.splashup.com
Web | Flash Another beauty with a Flash interface, Splashup sets itself apart with multi-image editing and a full-screen mode.

Windows Live Photo Gallery
get.live.com/photogallery
Windows Windows Live Photo Gallery gives Picasa (above) a run for its money, with many of the same photo-enhancing and sharing features—red-eye reduction, exposure adjustment, cropping, color, sharpen, and auto-adjust. What's more, Microsoft serves up histogram adjustment, panorama creation, and photo-CD burning.

Browsers

Flock
www.flock.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Another browser based on Mozilla, Flock emphasizes interaction with social networks and services. It also accepts many add-ons from the Firefox browser.

Maxthon
www.maxthon.com
Windows Replace IE or Firefox (but still use their rendering engines) with this highly customizable, multilanguage, tabbed beauty.

Opera
www.opera.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux | Mobile Possibly the nimblest and most usable of all the browsers available, Opera did tabs first and still does them best. Added usability features like Speed Dial and Tab Preview keep popping up in new versions.

Prism
labs.mozilla.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Prism is a site-specific browser, meaning you simply load a Web app (Gmail, for instance) and let it run like any other application on the desktop.

Browser Add-Ons

DownThemAll
www.downthemall.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux You don't have to download one item at a time from a Web page anymore. DownThemAll manages batch downloads, splitting files into pieces so they arrive faster.

Foxmarks 2.0
www.foxmarks.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Foxmarks can synchronize your Firefox bookmarks across multiple PCs, even multiple operating systems.

Googlepedia
code.google.com/p/googlepedia
Windows | MacOS | Linux In Firefox, Googlepedia loads the most relevant Wikipedia entry it finds alongside your Google search results.

Google Toolbar
toolbar.google.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux The toolbar brings Google's search and other functionality directly to IE or Firefox. It offers extras like auto fill, spell-checking, and one-click RSS feed subscriptions.

Greasemonkey
www.greasespot.net
Windows | MacOS | Linux Add this extension to Firefox and then extend it again with thousands of scripts that change the appearance and functions of almost any Web site.

IE7Pro
www.ie7pro.com
Windows Adds a load of extras to IE7, including control over tabs, spell-checking, ad blocking—even Greasemonkey-esque scripts (see above).

IE Tab
ietab.mozdev.org
Windows Do you prefer Firefox but still need to look at some sites in IE? IE Tab will load a site in a Firefox tab using the IE rendering engine.

ScribeFire
www.scribefire.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux This Firefox add-on sets up an interface for instant blogging on just about any blog system.

Tab Mix Plus
addons.mozilla.org
Windows | MacOS | Linux Take total control of how tabs work in Firefox. Adjust how they look, revive those you closed by accident, send tabs to new browser windows-essentially any tab action you can imagine.

Zotero
www.zotero.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Zotero makes it easy to keep track of all your research on the Web, including how to cite it in future reports.

Games/Fun

Eyezmaze.com's Grow
www.eyezmaze.com
Web | Flash It's not a single game but a series that involves choosing "growing" items that are added to an online environment.

Geni.com
www.geni.com
Web | Flash Share your genealogy with everyone in the family. They can contribute more individual profiles until your family tree is complete.

Google Earth
earth.google.com
Windows | MacOS | Linux Fly over familiar terrain or foreign lands with Google Earth, a searchable database of satellite images and geographical data—even images of the heavens. You can go a step further with all sorts of downloadable, gee-whiz applications from scientists, media outlets, and other third-party developers to trick out your Earth-moving experience.

Google Maps
maps.google.com
Web | Mobile This interactive mapping tool goes beyond driving directions. View destinations in Street View, Satellite, or Terrain modes; check traffic updates; or look up info on nearby businesses.

Kongregate
www.kongregate.com
Web | Mobile Only 2,598 free games (as of this writing) to keep you busy online? Bring 'em on.

Second Life
www.secondlife.com
Windows | MacOS This 3D virtual world has hundreds of thousands of denizens. Access is free, but you'll pay a bit if you want to get some real estate, or even fancy clothes for your avatar.

Free (Okay, Cheap) Hardware

Manufacturers of even the most basic devices generally don't give anything away. And you're not likely to find breakneck performance at bargain prices. But it is possible to get fully computerized without spending a fortune. Read on to find the best tech bargains around the Internet.

DESKTOP
EverexTC2502 gPC
$199 street
www.everex.com
Green or Google, it doesn't matter what the "g" stands for. Just know that this is the lowest-cost desktop on the market today. Available at Wal-Mart.
Read the full review of the EverexTC2502 gPC.

MONITOR
Sceptre DCL20A 20" Widescreen LCD
$159.99
www.tigerdirect.com
TigerDirect offers the occasional bargain display, such as this 20-inch screen with $50 instant rebate.

LAPTOP
ASUS color Eee PC 2G Surf
$299 direct
asus.com
This tiny Linux notebook has just a smudge of a screen (7 inches), but you won't find a better combination of price and functionality.

PRINTER
Lexmark Z1300
$29.99 direct
www.lexmark.com
Since it includes an ink cartridge worth $18.99, the actual price of this compact color ink jet printer is arguably around $6. Out of ink? Buy a new printer.
Read the full review of the Lexmark Z1300.

CAMERA
JAZZ JDC5 QVGA 3-IN-1 Digital Camera
$10 street
audio-discounters.com
Small enough to hang on a keychain, this tiny shooter uses a single AAA battery to capture images measuring 352 by 288 pixels.

MEDIA PLAYER
Coby MP-C833 128MB MP3 Player
$10 street
www.cobyusa.com
It plays MP3s and WMA files and has all the music control buttons you'll need, plus it doubles as a USB thumb key for file storage.

MOBILE PHONE
Motorola C139 from Tracfone
$14.99 direct
www.tracfone.com
It may lack the sex appeal of an iPhone, but the C139 makes calls. They'll cost you 10 cents per minute, prepaid.
Read the full review of the Motorola C139.

SCANNER
Canon CanoScan LiDE 25
$49.99 direct
www.usa.canon.com
This no-frills, three-button flatbed scans pictures at 1,200 pixels per inch over a slow but workable USB 1.1 connection.

NOKIA E75 & SONY LAPTOP

2009-06-19T06:41:00.001-07:00

TECH TALK

Nokia E75

SLIDE PRIDE

Last year, after a long hiatus, Nokia gave us the E71, which bowled us over completely.And now, we have its more advanced cousin, the E75. Does it match up to the standards set by the E71 Well, for starters, its compact size in itself is a huge relief! As for features, the best bit is the Nokia messaging application, which lets you set up numerous e-mail accounts for delivery of real-time messages. Supporting all major e-mail clients, this feature will be the fave of every on-the-go pro. That apart, through its in-built Quickoffice suite, you can easily work on Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. You can also encrypt files and use Adobe Reader for PDF files.

Price:

Rs 26,299

HOT Verdict:

A decent smartphone , but will there be takers at this price

STYLE FILE

Want a trendy laptop Sonys NW notebooks are quite classy in two-toned casings with 15.5 screens. The reverse hinge minimises storage space quite a bit. Made of a single metal sheet with ample space between keys, they feature enhanced usability and ensure fatigue-free and error-free typing.

Price:

Rs 37,900

Features:

15.5 wide screen Intel Pentium T4200 processor 160 GB hard disk 2 GB RAM Wireless LAN Bluetooth HDMI connectivity

Sony Ericsson W995 phone

2009-06-13T23:28:00.000-07:00

Big on entertainment

Youll never get bored again between meetings or when waiting for your flight with Sony Ericsson W995 phone

Ishani Duttagupta

ITS BEINGdubbed as the ultimate on-the-go entertainment experience . The Sony Ericsson W995 Walkman phone certainly packs in a lot in terms of entertainment. Media Go a new software that debuts with this phone transfers, plays and organises entertainment media in most formats without much hassles. Watching videos is a great experience because of the good resolution and also because of the size of the screen 2.6 inch. The builtin stand ensures hands-free viewing as well and battery power backs up two feature-length films. Video that is transferred from a PC to this phone does not play in low resolution or bad quality.
The extra Pocket Home Theatre speakers MS410 add a wow factor to this phone and can be clipped on externally to pump up the volume. It takes the sound experience to another level.
If youre an audio freak this is the phone for you. The clear sound quality, whether its through the phones built in speakers or through any headphone connected with the 3.5-mm jack, enhances all your favourite music. The FM radio feature is also available in the W995 and premium HPM-77 headphones come with the package. In fact, heres a gadget that doesnt put you off listening to music on a phone. A 8GB memory stick micro comes in handy to save a huge amount of photos, video clips and audio.
If sound is the USP of the W995, the 8.1 megapixel camera comes with some bells and whistles of its own. It features a 16x digital zoom and offers photo fix, face detection and smile detection . Pictures can, in fact, be printed up to a full A3 size without having to compromise on quality. Video blogging, video light and video stabiliser, too, are featured in this phone.
Other features include geo-tagging , GPS, Google Maps and a three-month trial version of Wayfinder Navigator. Finally, the Walk Mate software will help you keep tabs on your fitness quotient by enabling you to measure the number of steps that you take daily.

Price: Rs 26,786

KAYAK : THE WIRELESS BROADBAND DEVICE

2009-06-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

Broadband bet
Suman Layak
April 16, 2009

In a couple of months, a diverse group of senior citizens, professionals and students across India’s hinterland will be roadtesting a Qualcomm device, the Kayak. The machine, which combines wireless broadband access with a personal computer (PC) processor, may hold the key to Qualcomm’s aim to rival Intel in computer chips—and spark a broadband revolution in India. Is PC penetration in India poor because there is no broadband? Or is broadband use low because of poor PC penetration? When Mukund Rajan, Managing Director, Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd., launched the company’s wireless broadband solutions recently, he hoped the easy availability of broadband now would spur PC penetration. Kanwalinder Singh, President, Qualcomm India, who was also present, wants to tackle the problem from a different platform, one that combines its mobile telephony prowess with computing. India’s wireless broadband market is hotting up, finally. Reliance Communications (RCom) and Tata Teleservices, both of which use Qualcomm’s CDMA technology, launched their wireless broadband in March within a week of each other—forced by WCDMA-based offerings by the government-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telecom Nigam weeks earlier. Joydeep Ghosh, Director, ICE, KPMG, says: “India has a low Internet penetration of around 5 per cent, while broadband penetration is much lower, around half a per cent. There are around 5.85 million broadband subscribers, far lower than the target of ‘20 million by 2010’”. PC penetration was always poor, and the recession has added to the gloom in PC sales. To push their mobile broadband, Tata Tele and Reliance are promoting low-cost PCs (Tata Tele under the Novanet brand and Reliance via PC makers like ASUS, HCL and Lenovo) that work off the “cloud” or online servers with the operator. Enter the Kayak In comes the Kayak, at the core of which is Qualcomm’s MSM7-series chipsets, which have a modem and processor integrated. It can be a low-cost, broadband-enabled (3.1mbps) PC or a phone, or even a 3D-gaming machine. Why in India? It is now the world’s second-largest CDMA market after the US, adding 2.5 million subscribers a month. Singh says: “We are talking to mobile phone makers, PC makers as well as mobile operators for manufacturing the Kayak.” For the moment, the Kayak is just a reference design that others can use to make computers or phones. Packaged with a monitor, keyboard and mouse, it should come for a little over Rs 10,000— less, if the buyer decides to buy his own monitor or use the TV at home. The price is the key: the cheapest netbook is not less than Rs 15,000. The bonus for rural users: the Kayak can be used the whole day with one charge, like a mobile handset. The next step: the Snapdragon chip, which can do WCDMA and CDMA, and is seen as the future. Singh plans to bring in “smarter smart phones” on this chip at Rs 25,000 or more and a netbook that would be priced close to the Kayak.

a 64 GB USB Flash Drive: tHE ULTIMATE STORAGE DEVICE

2009-06-13T22:27:00.001-07:00

The ultimate storage device
Kushan Mitra
April 16, 2009

In 1999, the typical personal computer came with four to five gigabytes (GB) of storage. If you crammed every nook and cranny of the disc with MP3 music files (which one might recall, was quite the rage back then), you could, theoretically, fill your disc with 1,000 songs. But since your hard disc was in all likelihood filled with software, in reality you could pack in much less. To store music, therefore, meant buying blank CDs with a capacity of 640 megabytes (MB). The blank discs cost around Rs 75-100. A decade back, it was considered a revolutionary change. Today, looking back they were the early years for storage devices. The remarkable evolution of storage is typified by what SanDisk launched a few weeks ago: a 64 GB USB Flash Drive, more popularly called a “pendrive”. It means storing 16,000 songs that can play nonstop for almost 45 days. Or over 70 DVD-quality movies in the DivX format. SanDisk has launched this as a “back-up” drive and so it has plug-and-play back-up capabilities as well. Press a button on the drive and it copies all your critical documents. Of course, you can use it as a simple pendrive also, or with the addition of some software (such as U3), you can convert it into a pendrive from which you can directly run applications. What does this mean for you? To put it simply, you could carry all your important files and applications with you all the time and plug it in to any computer that runs the relevant operating system. The same thing can be done through the cloud, by running applications hosted online with files saved online. But it requires a fast Net connection, and the fact of the matter is that there are still under six million broadband connections in India. USB Flash Drives, however, are not without their problems. Most of them come cheap and a 32 GB pendrive costs under Rs 2,000, though the one terabyte (TB) powered hard disc drive from Western Digital cost around Rs 7,000. A bigger problem is that pendrives, like all other forms of storage, suffer from “Data Rot”—a physical degradation of the drive that leads to the data inside being lost. Pendrives are particularly susceptible to this and usually give up their ghost anywhere between 1,000 and 10,000 read-write cycles, depending on the quality of the drive. For me, though, the biggest problem with pendrives is simple. I lose them. Over the past year, I must have lost about 10 of them. But then again, nowadays most press releases come on pendrives and so, I do have a healthy supply chain. As you can see, I’m not complaining.

Paper-thin battery can be bent

2007-08-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

It's a battery that looks like a piece of paper and can be bent or twisted, trimmed with scissors or molded into any shape needed. While the battery is only a prototype a few inches square right now, the researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who developed it have high hopes for it in electronics and other fields that need smaller, lighter power sources.
"We would like to scale this up to the point where you can imagine printing batteries like a newspaper. That would be the ultimate," Robert Linhardt a professor at the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at RPI said. The development is reported in this week's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Unlike other batteries, Linhardt explained, it is an integrated device, not a combination of pieces. The battery uses paper infused with an electrolyte and carbon nanotubes that are embedded in the paper. The carbon nanotubes form the electrodes, the paper is the separator and the electrolyte allows the current to flow.
Students at the school in Troy, NY, were the inspiration for the work, said Linhardt, whose students were working on methods to dissolve paper and cast it into membranes for use in dialysis machines. Meanwhile, students of Pulickel Ajayan in RPI's materials science department were trying to make carbon nanotube composites using polymers.
The two groups got together and realized they could use paper instead of polymers and combine the two projects. Then came Omkaram Nalamasu's students, also at RPI, who said the project - a thin sheet black on one side and white on the other - looked like an electrical device.
And over about 18 months, the groups developed the projects, into a battery, a capacitor, which stores electricity and a combination of the two.
Ajayan sees potential uses in combination with solar cells, perhaps layers of the paper batteries that could store the electricity generated until it is needed, he said. Perhaps it could be scaled up and shaped into something like a car door, offering moving electrical storage and power when needed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Paper-thin_battery_can_be_bent/articleshow/2281938.cms

SOCIAL COMPUTING

2007-06-11T10:05:00.000-07:00

It refers to things like wikipedia, newsgroups, messageboards, email lists , blogs, the web itself etc. In such fora, a lot of value is "collectively constructed" by many users.

A major job in social computing is to identify "ecosystems" in online communities. What kind of people tend to pipe up with useful answers, in a newsgroup, how information spreads through blogs and wikis, are just two examples of questions which social computing tries to answer.

VIRTUAL WORLDS

2007-06-08T05:49:00.000-07:00

Virtual worlds ( VW) represent the next generation of internet applications. they have enormous potential for changing business and lifestyles. VW will enable new kinds of interactive comerce, collaboration and entertainment. Just as it is impossible to exist today without an email id in real life, in the coming years it might become impossible to exist without a virtual identity in VW environment.

"Second life" is the most widely known virtual world. To read more on this topic click on the link below :

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/Todays_Features/Networked/Virtual_Worlds_The_Future_Life/articleshow/2087908.cms