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CyberPower Announces USB 3.0 and SATA 6G for Entire Gamer Xtreme line

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:08:12 -0600

Intel has drawn a lot of flak from various quarters for delaying the adoption of USB 3.0 and SATA-III. But lesser known players seem far more eager to make the leap to these new standards. CyberPower has decided to include USB 3.0 and SATA-III in all the upcoming models in its Gamer Xtreme range of desktops.

“CyberPower customers can configure and order a Gamer Xtreme system with the super speed USB 3.0/SATA III interface today. With Intel's latest i5/i7 processors and P55/X58 chipsets, you'll enjoy maximum performance today and be ready for tomorrow. Both USB 3.0 and SATA III are backward compatible to assure users their current peripherals will not become obsolete,” the company said in a laconic press release. The Gamer Xtreme range starts at $749.

Freeware Files: Five Apps for a Windows 7 Desktop Makeover!

David Murphy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:30:00 -0600

There's nothing wrong with the Windows 7 desktop per se. But for freeware developers, that's no excuse not to tweak, hack, and otherwise modify every possible piece of your screen. And it's not that difficult to add new functionality to your desktop that doesn't otherwise exist in the operating system. The hardest part is finding software that makes a substantive change to what you already have. After all, the last thing you want to do is install a ton of different freeware apps and find your desktop in even worse shape than it was before (if you do, take a quick trip to Revo Uninstaller).

The intensity of the following five free applications ranges from apps that completely revamp your desktop's look and feel to programs that add new ways for accessing common apps and folders straight off your desktop. How far you want to go with your tweaking is entirely up to you--these are just some of the more interesting tools I've come across that should go a long way toward raising your "Windows Power User" level a few notches.

Desktop Media

Here's an easy one. Desktop Media emulates one of OSX's most basic and useful features. Whenever you stick a new CD in the drive, connect a portable USB storage device to your system, or fire up a network drive (amongst other options), Desktop Media slaps a shortcut to said device right on your desktop. Remove the device (or take the CD out), and the shortcut automatically disappears. Fire this one up in front of your friends and they'll swear that you've built some crazy Mac/Windows hybrid--you'll be the life of the Windows 7 party.

Download it here!

StandaloneStack 2

I've always enjoyed how Windows 7 has managed to simultaneously de-clutter and improve the usefulness of the default Windows Vista and Windows XP taskbars. However, every icon on the bar at the little bottom of your screen still only represents one program. Sure, you can get some added contextual items to select if you click on an application's arrow icon on the Start Menu, but this isn't a universal feature for all applications--and you're still only interacting with a single program.

StandaloneStack 2 allows you to move one step beyond these features and create program "stacks," or graphical lists, based off of a single icon. When you click on this icon, you can use the ensuing menu of items to launch new programs, folders, or settings options. It's like having a number of different Start buttons that you can customize as much as you'd like.

Download it here!

7 Taskbar Tweaker

This app might be limited in its prettiness, but it more than makes up for it with its usefulness. As you might expect, 7 Taskbar Tweaker is a simple utility for adding additional functionality into your default Windows 7 taskbar. For example, you can switch between either a default jump list or standard window menu when you right-click an icon, toggle application grouping on and off, and make use of new middle-click functionality that either opens a new instance of a taskbar program, closes the window, or focuses the window. You can also disable thumbnail previews, should you so choose. It's not a weighty list of items to play around with, but 7 Taskbar Tweaker's modifications aren't normally customizable options in the Windows 7 OS.

Download it here!

MenuApp

Speaking of the Start Menu, let's suppose you have a ton of different files, programs, favorites, and shortcuts that you want to be able to access from a single location. Let's call this set of objects "work." Normally, you'd have to make a folder somewhere on your system or desktop and dump all of your pertinent files in there, as well as all of your bookmarked Web sites, shortcuts to all the programs you need to access, et cetera. To organize this folder, you'd have to use subfolders related to the items you intend to store. Fun.

MenuApp removes the ugliness from this organization by allowing you to create Start Menu-like hierarchies based off of a single icon on your desktop. Now, you can simply click on your newly created "work" icon and pull up all of your files, shortcuts, and other objects of interest via an easy-to-access system of menus without having to move a single piece of data around your PC. Just tell MenuApp where the documents you want to access are located on your computer and it'll automatically create menus based on the contents of those folders--from there, you can shuffle and create organized pathways through your data at your leisure.

Download it here!

Rainmeter

For the ultimate in desktop skinning without a ton of crazy configuration files to wade through, Rainmeter is an excellent tool for changing the look of your entire desktop without sacrificing a large amount of system resources. A recent update to the application adds a little feature called RainBrowser, which lets you run through the different skins you've installed for the application and tweak their settings or preview their look before you start changing up your desktop en masse. The Rainmeter developers do the best job of summarizing the coolness of this free app: "Every inch of a skin is completely customizable."

Or, in other words, the sky's the limit. Ha-ha!

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!

AMD Prepping Two New Desktop Platforms for May 2010

Pulkit Chandna — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:31:21 -0600

Digitimes claims to have got the inside scoop on AMD's desktop strategy in 2010 from its sources at motherboard makers. The world's second-largest supplier of microprocessors is said to be working on two new desktop platforms, called the Leo (high-end) and the Dorado (mainstream), which the informants say will be unveiled in May 2010.

The Leo will reportedly combine a 45nm Phenom II series processor with either the 890FX or 890GX (RD890) northbridge and SB850 southbridge chipsets and an ATI Radeon HD 5000 series graphics card. This high-end desktop platform will also support AMD's upcoming six-core Thuban CPU, as per the report.

Moving on to the other platform, the sources said that the Dorado will bring together an Athlon II CPU, 880G (RS880P) northbridge and SB810 southbridge and HD 5000 series GPU. AMD refused to comment when contacted by Digitimes, saying that it cannot comment on unannounced products.

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!

Lenovo Will Bundle Skype with its New Laptop and Desktop PCs

Paul Lilly — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:56:55 -0500

Lenovo has let it be known that every single ThinkPad laptop and ThinkCentre desktop PC will come with Skype already installed.

"If you're fortunate enough to get your hands on a Lenovo ThinkPad or ThinkCentre for your home or office, be sure to keep an eye out for Skype," said Peter Parkes, Skype's chief blogger.

That's great news for private equity firm Silver Lake Partners, who bought a 65 percent share of the company last month and would like nothing more than to see Skype's market share continue to grow. While terms of the Lenovo deal have not been disclosed, there's a reason why software companies pay tidy sums to have their apps come pre-installed on OEM systems.

As for consumers, you can view it as another piece of bloatware to be nuked after first firing up your new PC, or a handy pre-install of an app you may already use anyway.

Freeware Files: Five New Tools for Your Virtual Toolbox!

David Murphy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0500

With the imminent launch of Windows 7 and its much-hyped Windows XP mode, the word "virtualization" is going to be everyone's lips throughout the month of October. Never one to let a fad slide on by, I'm jumping on the bandwagon in this week's freeware and open-source application roundup. I'll be taking a look at five different programs that enrich your computing experience with some kind of virtual add-on.

What does that even mean? A number of things. Windows XP mode is a great example of the common definition of virtualization--running a second operating system inside your primary operating system in a way that typically allows you to quickly switch between the two and access the contents of your primary machine's hard drives from the virtualized environment.

Virtual desktops are a lesser derivative of this concept. Instead of running a separate operating system, you're merely extending the size of your workspace by stacking on additional desktop layers that you can swap back-and-forth. You can also install a virtual keyboard that sits overtop your programs--analogous to what Windows offers for tablet PCs--if you're concerned about keyloggers somehow getting their hands on your mission-critical information.

I won't go on, as that might spoil some of the fun applications listed below. The virtual world, er, world of virtualized software is vast and interesting, featuring many applications that can expand your computer's functionality without adding a crazy amount of complexity. The coolness of these apps is only rivaled by their ability to save you precious time and headaches from doing things the old-fashioned way. Let's go exploring!

VirtuaWin

As mentioned above, VirtuaWin is the open-source program that allows you to create multiple desktops on a single operating system. You can switch between your desktops, or workspaces, using a handy little taskbar icon or preset keyboard hotkeys, although you can also set the program to swap over to a new workspace whenever you hover your mouse near the edge of a screen. Sending applications from desktop to desktop is as easy as clicking the taskbar icon or using the hotkeys as well. You can also drag a window over the "gutter" between your desktops, then swap over to the other side and pull that half of the window over to the new screen.

The downside? VirtuaWin doesn't create new desktops per se, in that your icons and background will look identical from screen to screen. Still, this program is a great organizational tool. It's nice to see Windows finally getting the same treatment that Linux has had for how long now?

Download it here!

Neo's SafeKeys 2008

If there's one thing that strikes fear in the computer-savvy traveler, it's having to use an unsecured terminal somewhere to access one's important, password-protected information. Who knows what could be lurking on a PC over which you have no control or supervision? Neo's SafeKeys 2008 attempts to relieve the stress of having to use potentially infected systems by giving you a virtual keyboard for inputting your sensitive information (think logins and passwords). It's not foolproof, but it does provide a measure of security from keyloggers using a whole swath of measures: clicked-on keys aren't translated to real-life key presses, the utility changes height and width to fool mouse-loggers, and you can even hover over keys you want to input instead of pressing the mouse button to thwart would-be screen-grabbers.

Like I said, this program isn't going to be the James Bond of safeguards against someone who's using a number of fancy techniques to steal your sensitive information. However, I'd much rather use Neo's SafeKeys 2008 than just type my password onto a provided physical keyboard. Yikes!

Download it here!

MobaLiveCD

It's not the fastest virtual environment around in terms of raw application speed, but MobaLiveCD puts up a fight for the title of fastest-loading. That's because this one-shot, single-executable application lets you launch into LiveCD-based operating systems at the touch of a button, right in the middle of your pre-existing Windows environment! If you're trying to save yourself coasters by installing your Live CDs straight onto bootable USB keys, you can use MobaLiveCD to launch into said operating systems without having to reboot your PC. The program can also launch a LiveCD-based OS from the .iso file you'd otherwise use to burn said CD.

Download it here!

Visual Subst

For convenience's sake, Virtual Subst allows you to take any folder on your system and mount it as if it was its own virtual hard drive. While the functionality is somewhat negated by the "Favorite Links" section in Windows Explorer, you have to dig a little deeper to see the true genius of Visual Subst. For example, pretend that you've mapped all of your iTunes music to the X:\ drive. The actual folder that corresponds to said virtual hard drive can be located anywhere on your PC, and you can move it around to anywhere else you want without any problem. To iTunes, your music will always exist in a single location--X:\. For you, however, you can shift and shuffle your files to your heart's content, provided you always point the final destination back to your trusty virtual drive of choice. That's just one thought--the mapping possibilities are endless!

Download it here!

VirtualBox

I would be remiss as an app-reviewer if I didn't mention VirtualBox, the oft-heralded free application of choice that allows you to load and launch any number of operating systems in a virtual environment. Essentially, this program will perform nearly the same functions as Windows 7's Virtual XP Mode. It offers you greater configurability and increased support for operating systems beyond Microsoft's own creations. You can also rollback changes you've made with an included snapshot mode, an ideal feature for those looking use a virtualized operating system as a clean test platform for new applications. Nothing against the Windows Virtual PC application--VirtualBox just offers more bang for your $0 worth of buck.

Download it here!

How-To: Turn Web Apps into Desktop Programs

Norman Chan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:45:07 -0500

Web applications are quickly gaining popularity over desktop programs for day-to-day tasks like email and calendar management, but you have to run a web browser and be tethered to an Internet connection to take advantage of these services. Luckily for you, both Google Chrome and Firefox actually offer the ability to turn these web apps into desktop applications.

Google Chrome

Using a Google Labs project called Gears, Chrome has the native ability to create desktop application shortcuts for web apps. This lets you place shortcuts to services like Gmail and Google Calendar on your Desktop, Start Menu, or Quick Launch toolbar. To do this, click the Page Menu icon to the right of your Address Bar in Chrome and select “Create Applications shortcuts…” while you’re on the web app webpage.

Choose the places where you want Chrome to create application shortcuts (Desktop, Start Menu, or Quick Launch bar), and click OK.

A new shortcut will appear for your selected web app. When you open it, Chrome will launch the service in a special window frame that doesn’t display any menus, tabs, or the address bar. Clicking a website link will open the full version of Chrome in a new Window.

Since Chrome has a process manager that runs each window and tab as its own process, windows launched from these application shortcuts act as stand-alone programs in Windows. Functions like Alt-Tab to switch between windows and Ctrl+P to print work perfectly. Unsurprisingly, Google’s own web services have the best compatibility with applications shortcuts, but the feature also works well for other popular web services like Remember the Milk and Zoho.

But even though Chrome’s application shortcuts let you access web apps from the desktop, you still have be connected to the Internet to use most of these services. Gmail and Remember the Milk, however, offer an offline mode that lets you access info while disconnected from the web. You have to manually enable the offline feature, which is still in beta, from the Gmail Labs settings page (https://mail.google.com/mail/#settings/labs). Just click the Enable dialog button to turn this feature on. Gmail will automatically start storing a local cache of your emails on your computer, and sync up any offline activity when it sees that you have an Internet connection.

Mozilla Firefox

Like Google, Mozilla has an experimental labs feature that lets you run web applications from your desktop. Prism (originally known as WebRunner) runs as a Firefox extension that works with Firefox 3.0 and newer versions of the browser.

To install the newest version of Prism, go to its official add-on download page (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6665) and click the big green Add to Firefox button. When prompted, restart Firefox.

Head over to your favorite web service, such as Evernote or Google Reader. Under the Tools menu, select “Convert Website into Application….” A new window will pop up that lets you configure how the new application shortcut will look and where it will appear.

Double-clicking the new application shortcut will run the service in its own bare-bones window. And like Chrome’s desktop app links, Prism apps will run as separate processes and offer basic desktop integration.

Murphy's Law: Freeware Fight! Synergy vs. Input Director

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

A KVM switch sounds like it has the potential to be a complicated piece of hardware. It's not. Without this most charitable of devices, you wouldn't be able to make use of more than one computer with a single keyboard and mouse. Your desk would be cluttered with input devices of all shapes and sizes, your ambitions of multi-boxing your own 40-man World of Warcraft raid would be dashed, and you wouldn't be able to slack off at your place of business nearly as discretely. After all, the entire point of a KVM switch is that it requires some kind of physical response--like whacking a button on the device--to switch a set of input devices between different desktops connected to the switch.

Why does this matter? Well, I don't have a KVM switch, but I do use a piece of software that's just as good: Synergy. This little open-source app has been my virtual KVM switch of choice for awhile now, but its time is just as quickly fading into the limelight. A new sheriff is in town, and he goes by the name of Input Director. Both programs allow you to control multiple, independent desktops (or laptops) using a single keyboard and mouse sans any "switching over" whatsoever--it's as if you just have a giant, spanned desktop across your systems.

Since Synergy has been at the top of everyone's must-have lists for some time (including Will's!), I thought it might be prudent to walk through the additional benefits and heartwarming fixes that Input Director brings to the party. Throw up the dukes!

Round One: Supported Operating Systems

Winner: Synergy

Admittedly, the antiquated Synergy pulls off a victory in the operating systems department. Both Input Director and Synergy work with versions of Windows as far back as Windows 2000. The latter, however, supports Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME--but that's not exactly why it gets the head-nod in this department, given the very, very few of you likely running any operating system that old. Synergy also functions in Apple's OSX 10.2 or higher... provided you can stomach your sacrilege at the thought of using this non-Windows OS (just reaching out to the site commenters on that one).

Round Two: Ease of use

Winner: Tie

This category is a little tough to work with, as both programs are pretty simple to use. You can set each to autorun once Windows loads up, and each will attempt to make a connection (or establish hosting) for whatever client/server or slave/master setup you've previously configured. It's as easy as that. Once the program verifies that a connection has been made, illustrated by the changed icon in your taskbar, then you'll be able to zip and zoom your mouse across as many screens as you want. Ta-da.

Round Three: Configuration/Features

Winner: Input Director (by a mile)

Synergy

This category's a biggie. Synergy's options are only configurable via the first screen that loads when you launch the program. After you've elected to connect to a server PC or set up your system as the client, that's it--like a racehorse, Synergy is off and running, and you have to quit and reload the program just to configure the options once again.

As for what you can configure, there's the paltry list of connection options like "Screen Name" and "port" -- nothing fancy there. As a host, you use a confusing series of text-based comparisons to establish how the screens of your systems are set up: "0 to 100% of Computer A goes to 0 to 100% of Computer B," for example. You can synchronize screen savers across the connected PCs and set a certain time interval (in milliseconds) of how long the system should wait with your mouse at the edge before switching over to the other screen. You can also assign hotkeys for functions like quick screen-switching and cursor-locking.

It sounds like a lot, but these options make up what one could consider a "lite to standard" package for an application of this type.

Input Director

For starters, Input Director can be reconfigured on-the-fly: You don't have to break your link between PCs to adjust a setting, nor do you have to then reconnect all your systems to see if it works. Synergy has the annoying habit of sometimes giving up, in that quitting and reloading the server PC's application doesn't always mean that the client PCs will reconnect sans error. Input Director goes through momentary losses in connectivity and reconnections flawlessly.

Input Director users can switch a PC between a preconfigured "Master" and "Slave" setup on-the-fly as well. When you're running your system as a Master configuration, adding new computers to your giant, spanned desktop is as easy as typing in their hostname and port and dragging an icon representing the PC to the left or right of an icon of your Master system. That's it. There are no crazy numbers or screen percentages to configure--this simple solution eliminates confusion when setting up your systems.

Not only does Input Director support connected systems' multi-monitor setups, but you can also connect PCs under a 128-bit, 192-bit, or 256-bit AES encryption protocol. As a further measure of security, Slave systems can further specify allowed masters by IP subnet or hostname. A fun option in the settings window will match up the LEDs on your keyboard (Number Lock, Scroll Lock, etc.) to the status of the buttons on the Slave device. You can also set up hotkeys that will block switching over to a new screen--useful if you're working right to the edge of your Master system.

Finally, there's the clipboard. Clipboard sharing is, in theory, enabled in Synergy. You're supposed to be able to copy and paste text from one computer to another, but in practice, I frequently found that this was a one-way path. Text would copy from a server to a client PC without error, but could never quite make it the other way around. In contrast, Input Director's clipboard-sharing feature works near-flawlessly. You still can't do more advanced treatments like copy screenshots from one PC to the other (if only), but I'm rarely lacking the ability to copy a piece of code or funny URL from different linked PCs.

Round Four: Oops

Winner: Input Director

I've been switching between Synergy and Input Director on and off in an effort to determine which one is a more stable choice of applications for screen- and input device-sharing. Synergy works pretty well, but there have definitely been times when either the host or slave device has simply stopped responding. Synergy will try to reconnect, but the resulting link doesn't always work flawlessly.

Input lag is Synergy's dreaded nemesis. Little is more frustrating than having your mouse cursor pause for seconds at a time when you switch between screens, and it happens frequently enough to affect Synergy's overall performance. The only way to restore access when this happens is to wait out the time or, for the impatient, mash ctrl+alt+delete and click cancel. Input Director has yet to lose signal out of the blue or suffer from lag in any fashion when hopping between connected PCs. For that, it takes this round.

Final Score: Input Director (3) Synergy (2)

But, really, for its stability and easy-to-use configurations, the score is more like Input Director (3,000), Synergy (2). Make the switch today. Download Input Director here!