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Freeware Files: Widescreen Mania! Make the Most of your Monitor's Real Estate!

David Murphy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:30:35 -0600

Widescreen monitors are, in a word, awesome, and not just because they offer some kind of enhanced quality over their four-by-three ratio brethren. Depending on what you're using them for, like movie-watching, you'll simply see more of a given scene than you otherwise would on a standard display. The increased screen real estate (on the horizontal plane) also allows you to make more effective use of your desktop... provided you have the right software tools to create this enhanced productivity.

In fact, one of the biggest complaints surrounding the use of widescreen monitors is just that--the elongated desktop space is just too hard to navigate, and applications frequently don't make the best use of this additional room. I can't promise that everything out-of-the-box (or out-of-the-browser window) will look great on your widescreen display. However, what I can do is offer you a suite of tools designed to make your 16-by-9 or 16-by-10 experience as great as it can be. I've been using widescreen monitors for quite some time now. I know how it feels. That extra background space on the sides of every Web page you load? Maddening.

But I digress. Let's take care of that issue, and more, with some awesome widescreen monitor apps.

MiniMIZE

What's so great about MiniMIZE? If you have the extra screen real estate--and you do, if you're using a widescreen monitor--then why bother minimizing your applications to a tiny icon on your taskbar? The heck with that. Take that additional horizontal space on your desktop and pack it with big ol' thumbnails of the very programs you've minimized. It's a prettier treatment for organizing your active windows, although it would be nicer still if the desktop images of your windows were actually live, much like Windows' live taskbar previews.

Since this program is super-old and hasn't been updated since its third beta, you'll want to make sure that you're running it in compatibility mode for Windows XP (Service Pack 2), else you will see no new icons on your desktop whatsoever.

Download it here!

Widescreen Fixer

There are apparently a number of popular games that just don't approach the issue of widescreen displays with much tenacity. And by that, I mean that a batch of titles--including BioShock, the Call of Duty Series, and Wolfenstein--don't properly adjust the field of view when you switch to a widescreen mode. This results in your picture getting cropped, which gives you less visible playing space than a person playing on a 4:3-ratio display. Yuck.

Widescreen Fixer does exactly what its name suggests, correcting the field of view issues for these games (including those with PunkBuster-based multiplayer, which isn't apparently bothered by this utility) and opening up around 20 percent more of the picture than what you'd otherwise see on a 4:3-ratio display. More picture means more killing--or, to put it in friendlier terms, you unlock a greater hunk of the game's scenery to admire while you're dodging bullets from your online adversaries.

As for the picture above, The normal-looking part of the image is a shot of Battlefield 2141 in a typical 16:10 mode. The blue chunk of the shot is what you would see if the game was running in a default 4:3 resolution, and the red chunk of the shot is what Widescreen Fixer unlocks for a 16:10 display.

Download it here!

Edgeless

It doesn't get much lazier than this. So, you have this new widescreen monitor, and you've noticed that it takes a lot longer for you to traverse from one end of the rectangular screen to the other. You're tempted to turn up your mouse's sensitivity settings, but you just can't adjust yourself to the new sensation. What do you do? You install Edgeless, a little utility that removes the virtual borders of the left and right sides of your display. Like Columbus, your monitor has now turned from a flat map into a three-dimensional world. Move your mouse off the left-most part of your screen and it'll appear on the right. Move your mouse off the right-most portion of the screen and... can you guess what happens?

Edgeless 2 also allows you to wrap your mouse around your screen vertically. However, users below have noted some potential antivirus issues with said program. We can't determine whether this is a false positive or a warning flag, but if you've already installed this utility, then you'll want to run a quick anti-virus and anti-malware scan on your system just to be safe (in fact, let us know if anything pops up). As for the app, your best bet is to pick up the original, problem-free Edgeless utility. If you're running Windows 7 on a 64-bit operating system, you might need to drop this app into Vista compatibility mood for it to work.

Download it here!

WinSplit Revolution

To truly organize your widescreen desktop, you can always try partitioning it into zones. WinSplit Revolution is a handy little application that allows you to snap windows into preset configurations using a bevy of keyboard hotkeys. But don't think you're stuck to a basic, say, two-by-two grid of windows. You can have windows span multiple "sections" either vertically or horizontally, and if you find you need more room for more windows, you can quickly make space for an additional row or column using the built-in hotkeys. Although this application is really designed for the keyboard fanatic, an experimental "drag'n'go" mode lets you move your window around the screen while the program highlights the different places your window could end up.

Download it here!

Always on Top Maker

The site isn't the prettiest, but don't let that deter you from the simple functionality presented by Always on Top Maker. If you don't want to fiddle with applications that split your screen into sections, or applications that dump your windows into icons on your desktop, or any other software craziness, then Always on Top maker is the no-frills utility for you. After all, the best way to make use of your widescreen desktop is to simply park something on one side while you do something else on the other--like, say, watch YouTube videos while you write freeware roundups. This normally results in your active window taking precedence over your inactive window and makes such a task impossible unless you literally isolate one program to one side, one program to the other.

Always on Top Maker lets you stick a window anywhere you want on your desktop, which will always remain on top of the active window you're working in. You toggle this functionality on and off with a simple keyboard shortcut. That's it. It's simple, it's easy, and it's a great way to multitask on your widescreen display without having to resort to fancier organizational applications.

And, no, this doesn't work to stop Plants vs. Zombies from auto-pausing your game when you switch to a different window. Sigh.

Download it here!

David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!

Trillian Now Available for iPhone, iPod Touch

Paul Lilly — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:40:01 -0600

Better late than never, and while it took a long time, iPhone and iPod touch users can now download Trillian, the multiprotocol IM client, through Apple's App Store.

The $4.99 app comes with many of the same features as its desktop counterpart, including grouped and sorted contacts. Tabbed chat windows also find their way onto the iPhone and iPod touch version, and so does the ability to copy and paste, which is more a credit to Apple than Cerulean Studios, the company responsible for Trillian.

Users can also synchronize content across multiple IM clients, so that changes made on the iPhone version will appear in real-time on the Windows client.

In a nod towards cloud computing, Cerulean Studios says that all chats are stored on the company's server, which means they won't be lost if you suffer a dropped connection. The app can also be set up to send IM alerts when Trillian is shut down.

Image Credit: Cerulean Studios

Google Releases Google Earth App 2.0 for iPhone

Paul Lilly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:15:03 -0600

It's been a little over a year since Google first unveiled its Google Earth app for the iPhone and iPod touch, and it took just six months for the app to become the most-downloaded free application overall. Now there's a new version available -- Google Earth 2.0 -- with a few new features, improved icon selection, and better performance, Google says.

Users who log directly into their Google Maps account can now view the same maps that they or others have created, using the My Maps interface.

"Maybe you're on a trip and want to see where Tony Wheeler, the co-founder of Lonely Planet, most likes to travel," Google wrote on its blog. "Or perhaps you're walking around looking for a restaurant and you want to see where world-famous chef Ferran Adrià likes to eat. All you have to do is click 'Save to My Maps,' open Earth on the iPhone, log in with the same account information, and voilà, you have your same collection of My Maps right in your pocket."

Google says it's also easier to discover new parts of the globe. In version 2.0, just touch an icon and small glow appears under your finger to let you know which one you picked.

Any iPhone or iPod touch owners play with the latest update yet?

Class Action Suit in the Works Against Number-Harvesting iPhone Apps

Paul Lilly — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:45:10 -0600

It's all fun and games, until that game you downloaded from the iTunes App Store turns out to be harvesting your cell phone number. That's what gaming developer Storm8 has been accused of doing.

"The wireless telephone numbers of users' phones are not used or necessary to play any of Storm8's games, yet Storm8 has written the software for all its games in such a way that it automatically accesses, collects, and transmits the wireless telephone number of each iPhone user who downloads any Storm8 game," states a lawsuit filed on behalf of Lynwood, Washington resident Michael Turner.

Storm8 first came under fire in late August when news reports pointed out that Storm8's apps appeared to be phoning home. Addressing the reports, the company said the system had a "bug" and that it has since been fixed. But Storm8's explanation isn't enough for Turner's lawyer, who says his goal is to ensure the company is no longer allowed to collect private data in the future.

"A public admission is not the same as a legal representation or legal injunction," Turner's lawyer said.

Freeware Files: Five Alternative Desktop Organizers (That Rock)

David Murphy — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:30:00 -0500

The recent release of Stardock's Fences tool (version 1.0) got me thinking about desktop organization. While Fences is certainly neat--the program lets you divide your desktop real estate into individual sections, surrounded by "fences," amongst other space-saving features--this freeware app isn't the only game in town by far. In fact, some of you expressed disgust at Stardock's latest release. Be it the fact that one needs to install Stardock's Impulse client just to access Fences, or your simple dislike of an application whose functionality is mirrored by other freeware apps, Fences was hardly a shot hit out of the park.

So, here we are. I'm going to show you five different alternative desktop managers that will help you bring increased tidiness, prettier looks, and funner... er... more fun functionality to your typical workspace. Auto-arrange your icons one last time for nostalgia's sake, because I'm about to mix up your desktop crazy-style.

WinExt

This one's easy. WinExt expands the normal Windows shell to include an additional bar at the top or bottom of your screen. On this bar sits a number of additional features: menu buttons that you can theme by category to launch any number of applications (sure beats surfing around the Windows start menu!), quick-launch buttons for calling up all the apps you want, and an optional status bar that gives you a Resources Monitor-like look at your system's current CPU use, RAM use, and hard drive space, amongst other notes. You can customize the colors and alpha transparency of this new bar on your screen, making it just a tad more useful than the default Windows taskbar.

Download it here!

RocketDock

I've talked about RocketDock before, so I'm somewhat loathe to mention it again in a freeware update. However, a number of commenters have insisted that RocketDock is a stronger enhancement for one's desktop than Stardock's Fences, so I don't mind profiling it again just in case you missed it last time. Explanation aside, RocketDock is an application launcher that's analogous to what you'd find on Apple's OSX platform. A little, auto-hiding, transparent launcher hosts icons representing the program shortcuts that you want easier access to. Moving your mouse over said icons expands them into a larger size (again, OSX anyone?), and you can even see a live preview of your app (if it's running) similar to Windows Vista's default action.

Download it here!

ObjectDock

You got your ObjectDock in my RocketDock! You got your RocketDock in my ObjectDock! Despite the similarities of the names, RocketDock and ObjectDock--also a Stardock app, for those keeping score at home--are... almost every bit the same. ObjectDock offers a different style, same treatment for adding an additional, icon-themed shortcut launching bar into your operating system. It's a bit beefier of a resource-user than RocketDock. If you can afford the hit, you'll get a kick out of the unique icons and "docklets," tiny applications like a brand-new weather feed utility that you can launch straight out of your ObjectDock bar itself!

Download it here!

BumpTop

Tired of staring at the boring ol' two-dimensional space of a normal computer desktop? All the application-launching utilities in the world can't break through your workspace's flat plane... hence BumpTop's usefulness. This app transforms your dull desktop into a three-dimensional, navigable space. Rotate this environment as if it were a Sims-like model of your bedroom, then attach your icons to the wall like a teenager's collection of rock posters. As you grow and shrink icons to reflect their importance, you can drag them around and nudge smaller, less-important icons out of the way. Clicking, dragging, and creating three-dimensional piles of icons has never been as intuitive as it is in BumpTop and--dare I say it--never as much fun, either.

Now if only there was a way to create additional themed "rooms" and pathways through your desktop a la an old-school Doom map...

Download it here!

KDE

Eschew the Windows environment entirely and play around with a LiveCD that incorporates KDE, or the K Desktop Environment. To be honest, a number of the fancier tricks and desktop management tools that you have to build into Windows with third-party programs are likely to already exist in KDE. It's the inspiration for many an aspiring Windows desktop enhancer--if not Windows itself. A number of the flashier features you'll find on Windows 7 desktops worldwide have already been known to KDE users for some time now. Get ahead of the desktop management curve; get KDE.

Download it here!

New iPhone App Lets You 'Look Up Before You Hook Up'

Paul Lilly — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:13:43 -0500

When did dating get so complicated? In the 'old' days, it was boy meets girl, boy meets girl's father, girl's father wields shotgun while interrogating boy, boy returns girl by agreed upon curfew. Simple, right?

Not anymore, but if you own an iPhone, you can weed out potentially bad dates before ever bringing them home to meet the 'rents. A new app called DateCheck runs a background check on a would-be Romeo to see if he's been hiding a criminal past, including sexual assaults, drug arrests, or drunken driving.

Players be warned - the app also exposes financial data, such as how big your house is, the home's price, and how much real estate tax is paid, TGDaily reports.

"DateCheck is tougher on my dates than even my Dad was," said Intelius product marketing manager Katherine Herman during an on-state demonstration.

Video Interview

Freeware Files: Five Unique Alternatives to Adobe AIR's Best Apps!

David Murphy — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:30:00 -0500

Do you hate Adobe AIR? I sometimes do. While the applications based on Adobe's framework can be pretty neat to use, there's something about their similar look and shared frameworks, not to mention features, that just can just drive me up the wall. Plus, every new Adobe AIR-based application has to be installed and run through Adobe AIR itself. While it's a handy way to make sure that you're running the most up-to-date version of the application, the Adobe AIR platform isn't very conducive to portable use. Actually, you can't stick AIR-based applications on a USB key and run them at all--the host computer would still need Adobe AIR for these apps to function.

That's but one minor complaint about the AIR platform. There are more, but this week's freeware roundup isn't intended to be a slam on these Adobe apps. Rather, I'll be taking a look at some of Adobe AIR's more popular applications and offering up unique freeware alternatives that don't require use of the AIR platform to work. Not all of the listed applications will support portable use out-of-the-box, but you can use the popular Mojopac Free program to store and access all of these apps on any USB device of your choosing.

Adobe Air: TweetDeck / Seesmic Desktop
Alternative: digiTweet

Not going to lie: In a perfect world, there would be no Twitter apps for your desktop other than TweetDeck or Seesmic Desktop. Each varies ever-so-slightly in features, but both are incredibly powerful applications that open up a wealth of functionality for interacting with the Web-based Twitter service that you wouldn't find just by heading over to good ol' Twitter-dot-com. But both apps are built on the Adobe AIR platform. For an open-source alternative to either, be sure to check out digiTweet. While it's not as pretty as, say, TweetDeck, digiTweet nevertheless offers compelling features like multi-tab search for specific words or phrases; individual category boxes for elements like @ mentions, direct messages, and categories; and a customizable API refresh rate so you don't blow past Twitter's hourly use allowances.

Download it here!

Adobe Air: Klok Time Tracker
Alternative: ManicTime

I've covered ManicTime before, but it's worth mentioning again as it's one of the better alternatives to the Adobe AIR-based Klok Time Tracker. Both programs deliver a great graphical layout of how you're spending your time at your computer. So what's the key difference? In Klok Time Tracker, you have to input your daily routines manually--you click on various categories of work you've set up in order for the program to begin its tracking and graphical analysis of your day. In ManicTime, however, this all occurs automatically. In fact, the program is so meticulous in its recording of the exact applications and windows you have open, that it's almost maddening to track what you're doing if you're a compulsive window-switcher like yours truly. Suffice, if you use ManicTime, you will know--down to the second--exactly how you've wasted your day at your computer.

Download it here!

Adobe AIR: DestroyFlickr
Alternative: Cooliris / Photology

Here's the deal: DestroyFlickr is an Adobe AIR-based app that's like a combination of Cooliris and a Flickr uploading tool. The app helps you quickly scan through flickr sets and pictures using an interface that's far more intuitive (and pretty) than Flickr's default series of HTML pages. Cooliris, by itself, is an awesome browser plug-in that replicates this functionality across not only Flickr and your computer's desktop, but a ton of sites across the Web as well. The problem is that it contains no way to actually interact with Flickr accounts the way DestroyFlickr can--Cooliris amps up the browser part of the equation at the expense of being able to upload your own photos. For that, try Photology: It's gallery-based browser for photos and photo-sensitive search filters are restricted to desktop use only, but you can take what you find and upload it to Flickr at the click of a button.

Download Cooliris here and Photology here!

Adobe AIR: Font Picker
Alternative: AMP Font Viewer

Fonts. Can't live with 'em, can't print out signs for your roommate without them. While you could use the Adobe AIR-based Font Picker to see which particular font (of the hundreds on your system) would best suit the text you're typing out, it's worth your while to investigate the alternative AMP Font Viewer instead. Font Picker is but a list--a helpful list that allows you to eliminate fonts you don't want to consider choosing for whatever it is you're typing--but a list nevertheless. AMP Font Viewer not only handles the installation and uninstallation of your fonts, but it allows you to assign your installed fonts to categories of your choosing. You can also make a printout of all your fonts (if you're crazy) or use the included scratchpad to see exactly what each little font looks like for the text you're creating.

Download it here!

Adobe AIR: Doomi
Alternative: DeskTask

Remembering tasks is one of the more useful ways to use your PC. I just try not to think about the fact that my thousands-of-dollars-system has now become one giant digital display for post-it notes. Or, at least, that's what you get when you download Doomi. It's a pretty to-do list for your desktop, but that's about it. You enter items, you click on the check box when you've completed them, and... yeah. DeskTask also pops up your list of to-be-accomplished tasks onto your desktop for easy viewing, but the app integrates with Microsoft Outlook to display your tasks and calendar items without any additional input. In fact, that's all it does. So if you have Outlook, this is the perfect alternative to Doomi for task management. If you don't, you could always check out Remember the Milk?

Murphy's Law: The Web Opens Wide

David Murphy — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:15:00 -0500

Ahh, TechCrunch50 time. For those outside of the Valley, otherwise known as "The Know," this is the time of year when legions of startups (47) descend onto a common stage under the TechCrunch banner, all eager to pitch their next, greatest idea to a field of hungry judges and enthusiastic audience members.

Every time this happens--or every time any show similar to the TechCrunch50 goes down--I always look forward to the new batch of oddly named Web applications that I'll probably never hear about again, let alone actually use. For this, I have but one source to blame: open data. Just because there's an API or the free-flow of information outward from a single popular source doesn't mean that one always has to make a spin-off project. But if you build it, they will indeed come. The developers, that is, and they're always looking to cash in on the next big variation to an already successful idea.

I'm not exactly sure why this is the case with Web applications and why it's not always mirrored in open-source or freeware software development. What is it about a Web platform that makes it such an intriguing breeding ground for rip-offery? Is it really that easy to create a Web mashup of two social networks instead of pouring the same amount of effort into, say, a new instant messaging application?

The Web's Copycats

How many Twitter variants are out there right now? I can't even begin to fathom just how many sites call into the Twitter API for some unique delivery of one's messages: sites like Twitterfall, Friendfeed, all those Twitter directories that promise to boost your follower count like a big, cross-linked Yellow Pages, et cetera. The list gets thicker still if you count all the direct rip-offs of Twitter itself, including the business-themed Yammer and open-source StatusNet. It's application overload, and that's just a single Web property.

A similar situation occurs with open-source and freeware software development, but it's not nearly as extreme. For example, there are a number of different instant messaging applications that seek to replicate the functions found in more official chat programs like AOL Instant Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger. That's nothing new.

A number of these applications, while similar, still tend to offer enough of a variance in features, interaction, or design to warrant existence. For example, I use Pidgin. I like Pidgin. But I can just as easily see how someone could use Digsby, or Adium, or Trillian to fulfill their conversational needs. Yet, the degree of instant messenger spin-offs isn't nearly as crazy as the number of dead or dying Web applications that launch on a yearly basis. Developers are fine making just one more derivative in a thousand based off a preexisting (and successful) Web platform, yet fail to apply this diverse eye to the software world in such a grand scale.

Toes in the Pool

Is it the payoff that's the problem? I can envision a lot more testing and development involved with getting a stable application off the ground versus one that's designed to work solely via your Web browser. But wouldn't it be easier to attract eyeballs in the software world, where potential competitors can number in the tens, not thousands? And what about the open-source world where the source code is already written for you? You're practically encouraged to create a unique modification on an original concept--tweaking successful software couldn't be any worse than crafting up a new Web app from scratch.

Is it the monetization? Digsby has taken a lot of flak for its unique approaches toward helping the program's development stay afloat. That said, it's not like downloadable software exists in a bubble. Open-source and freeware applications would still depend on the very same advertising methods that any ol' Web site would need to survive--at least, I don't see many Twitter Web apps resorting to subscription fees nowadays.

Is it the culture? Are we slowly reaching the point where the most useful forms of communication and accessibility occur in the Cloud instead of the desktop? I've long since abandoned using installable programs to interact with my personal email accounts. That said, I sure don't see myself transitioning over to a Meebo in place of Pidgin. I'm not going to waste the browser resources, nor do I want the added hassle of instant messages interfering with my normal surfing habits. Some programs just work as Web apps; some don't.

It would be stupid to say that third-party software development is somehow stunted as a result of Web applications. That's not my point. I just can't bear to see the buzz and hype of emerging Web platforms that are so obviously dead in the water before they've even floundered. Why not drop this development into unique freeware or open-source software that has a slightly better chance of making it in the real world? Do we really need this much Web 2.0 waste?

Maximum PC app RSS Feed

Freeware Files: Widescreen Mania! Make the Most of your Monitor's Real Estate!

Trillian Now Available for iPhone, iPod Touch

Google Releases Google Earth App 2.0 for iPhone

Class Action Suit in the Works Against Number-Harvesting iPhone Apps

Freeware Files: Five Alternative Desktop Organizers (That Rock)

New iPhone App Lets You 'Look Up Before You Hook Up'

Freeware Files: Five Unique Alternatives to Adobe AIR's Best Apps!

Adobe Air: TweetDeck / Seesmic DesktopAlternative: digiTweet

Adobe Air: Klok Time TrackerAlternative: ManicTime

Adobe AIR: DestroyFlickrAlternative: Cooliris / Photology

Adobe AIR: Font PickerAlternative: AMP Font Viewer

Adobe AIR: DoomiAlternative: DeskTask

Murphy's Law: The Web Opens Wide

The Web's Copycats

Toes in the Pool

Adobe Air: TweetDeck / Seesmic Desktop
Alternative: digiTweet

Adobe Air: Klok Time Tracker
Alternative: ManicTime

Adobe AIR: DestroyFlickr
Alternative: Cooliris / Photology

Adobe AIR: Font Picker
Alternative: AMP Font Viewer

Adobe AIR: Doomi
Alternative: DeskTask