Tag Archives: Freeware

Three interesting extensions to enjoy a real Web 2.0 experience with OpenOffice 3.0

After more or less a month from its release, the new OpenOffice 3.0 is receiving tons of positive comments. Anyway, this week, in our Freeware page, we have posted some brief notes abut three different extensions which are able to improve your effectivenss in office routines. First of all we have ooo2gd a simple menu bar which allows you to directly upload or download all kind of documents from Google Documents and Zoho. The second one is the Sun PDF Import Extension which has been created to allow minimal but useful changes to PDF documents. After few minutes we were able to make some interesting changes to a complex PDF documents with just a couple of clicks and export the result “into a hybrid PDF file, which is a PDF with the embedded source file asODF “. Last but not least we tested Sun Presentation Minimizer: an effective extensions which cuts the size of presentations reducing, for example, the image sizes. Using Sun Presentation Minimizer you will be able to simply and freely decide what kind of changes you want to make to your multimedia files contained in the presentations. To conclude it is necessary to focus your attention on the feature that also allows Sun Presentation Minimizer to work on Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. In few words we think that these extensions are guaranteed to be 100% satisfactory!!

Symbaloo: a new interesting web portal to improve your time efficiency in internet!

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This week in our Freeware Page we posted a review about Symbaloo: a new interactive web portal which allows you to directly manage many everyday tasks directly on the web. As soon as you register yourself on Symbaloo you are able to freely modify your personalized Symbaloo, adding new features or deleting the default ones. Symbaloo is an interactive grid with 60 different squares (each of them hosts a different feature) and a central rectangle where some of your features can directly be visualized. Symbaloo is very flexible and allows you to deeply personalized itself. During our test we did not find any bugs and we were able to insert the 95% of the the features we planned to create there. Moreover, clicking on the plus (+) button on the upper left corner you can create a Symbaloo news page or share a new Symbaloo public page with your friends. Just to know, Symbaloo is available in The Netherlands, Spain, France, the UK and the US in beta. To sum up, it is possible to affirm that at the end of a three days test we do think that Symbaloo can really contribute to reduce time wasted on routine internet tasks. Something to try!

CDBurnerXP: how to burn your CD/DVD/HD-DVD or Blu-Ray just using a freeware!

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This week, in our Freeware Page, we have posted a review about CDBurnerXP which, in our opinion is the best freeware in its category and contains more effective features than some -commercial- competitors. CDBurnerXP is a powerful freeware which allows you to burn CD, DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray in a very intuitive mode and faster than using other proprietary software as, for example, Roxio CD Creator. During our tests CDBurnerXP was very stable and easy to use. Using CDBurnerXP we were able to create backup copies of our DVDs in just few minutes. Another interesting features is the possibility to burn or create ISO and to convert bin/nrg formats to a more usable ISO version. Last but not least CDBurnerXP works on Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server and Vista. Highly recommended!!!

Sandboxie: the best sandbox for your Windows peace of mind!

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There are almost two different good reasons to install a sandbox on you Windows OS: email/internet security and the possibility of trying new software without risking to damage your OS configuration. About the first point we can say that it is useful to read the attachments of your emails or freely browsing the web without risking to infect the PC. I know, we all do not usually open attachments from unknown email senders but at least, once a month (for example when we are under pressure at work) it happens and then we have to scan the PC with antiviruses and antispywares to check if we have involuntary open one or more backdoors. Moreover, when we decide to test a new software we could prefer not to take unnecessary risks running them. This week, in our Freeware Page, we have tested Sandboxie, a freeware which allows you to use one or all the programs installed on your computer with no risks. In fact all the data are stored in a temporary area (sandbox) and not written on the hard disk of your PC and they are deleted as soon as you decide to quit them. You can legally use Sandboxie free of charge for any length of time that you desire but, after 30 days, the software will occasionally remind you to consider paying the 30 USD registration fee. Last but not least, Sandboxie is simple to install and after not more than one hour you will be able to use it in a complete way. Very useful!

The best way to always have your favourite mind-mapping with you: FreeMind and WiseMapping!

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During the past two years I have tested some different solutions for mind-mapping (VYM, for example, is one of my favourite because it has a very enjoyable graphics) but the most efficient formula I have discovered is composed by the addition of FreeMind – a multiplatform (Windows -also portable -, Linux and MAC OS X)- mind mapping java software for desktop and WiseMapping -an online free service to create-store-share my mind-maps. For this reason, this week, in our Freeware Page we have posted a brief manual about FreeMind and WiseMapping. FreeMind is a very intuitive software which allows you to create complex mind -maps after just few clicks. Its side menu contains all the graphics elements you need to create your maps and all the main commands can be easily activated with the mouse right button. On the other hand,WiseMapping contains a very simple but efficient menu bar which allows its user also to import FreeMind Files and to export mind-maps to SVG, PDF, FreeMind or PNG formats. This last PNG option, for example, is very useful if you want to insert a mind-map into a website. Try them and you will be very satisfied with the results you get!

FEBE and CLEO the best solution to save (and reinstall) your Firefox settings: extensions, themes and bookmarks!

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Today, in our Freeware Page (traditionally in English) we have added an effective post (in Spanish) about FEBE and CLEO: two fantastic Firefox extensions which allow you to backup all your personal Firefox settings. FEBE is a multiplatform add-on (Linux, Windows, and OS X) easy to install and to manage. In fact, the “FEBE Options” is a complete menu where it is possible to choose: what to save, where (destination folders) and frequency of the backups. Personally, I do suggest to change the default options and not to backup your usernames, passwords and cookies using FEBE. In fact, the backup file, a .xpi, could be stolen and easily reinstalled on a third part computer. Last but not least I want to underline the key role of CLEO which allows FEBE to create the installable .xpi file with all your settings. Recommended!

How to create free tutorials and presentations: the multiplatform Wink

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This week in our Freeware Page we have posted a brief but complete tutorial about Wink: the best free “tutorial and Presentation creation software” for Windows. We installed Wink with just few clicks and after a reboot (recommended) we were ready to try its features. Wink is easy to use, includes audio features and it is possible to add notes directly to every single frame. Anyway Winks has many output formats as Macromedia Flash, EXE, PDF, PostScript and HTML so you can decide if you prefer to create a video, a standalone .exe for pc users, a printable manual or a webpage. Moreover, Wink allows you to choose your best ratio between performance and video quality. Unfortunately its Linux version runs only with x86 computers and we have to wait next release to completely enjoy Wink’s features. Recommended!

A new feature from our blog!

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This post is unusual because today we have not written a review about Linux or freeware but we are launching a new feature in our Blogroll: CB Flakes which is just our personalized page of Pageflakes (a web 2.0 web aggregator). In CB Flakes we selected few interesting (we hope) RSS/Atom feeds about Linux, freeware, e-commerce, technology and science (in general). Moreover we added some widgets we think could be useful for everyone (World Time Clock, Google Map, Universal Blog Search, Flickr, Wikipedia, YouTube, Aruna Send, Document to PDF, Sudoku and Comics). Last but not least we inserted a message board widget you can use to suggest us new RSS/Atoms to add in our pageflakes. Try and enjoy our pagecast!

MusikCube: the opensource competitor to iTunes

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In our Freeware Page we have posted a review about MusikCube, the most powerful competitor to iTunes. It is superfluous to remind that this opensource software has exactly the same features than iTunes (e.g. tags and dynamic playlist), personally I prefer to underline that MusikCube is extremely lightweight (12,792K on my XP), fast (due to the sqlite database engine), compact and easy to use (it has also a good integrated CD ripper) . Unfortunately it is not possible to personalize (or create) the skin but there are more than 20 plugins you can choose between. Moreover I tried to connect my IPod but I did not succeed; with Zen and Rio I had not any problem. To conclude, I suggest MusikCube to all people who are loking for a modern mp3player with a terrific integrated library manager!