Windows Essential Apps

We at Cavtec are big fans of the Lifehacker blog! Its always full of interesting activities and things to get stuck into.


The [Lifehacker] have created a list of essential apps, and we thinig they are pretty comprehensive as well. They are all Freeware/OpenSource and therefore can be enjoyed by all.


Have a flick through, download and enjoy. You never know? There just might be something you need in the midst of it all.


Enjoy,

Cavtec Systems Limited

Cavtec Systems Limited, established 1991. Providing the finest quality computer support and additional services to Small Medium Enterprises and Home users. Newcastle upon Tyne, London and East Grinstead.

http://www.cavtec.co.uk

admin@cavtec.co.uk

MEDIA

Video Player: PotPlayer

Price: Free
Download Page

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Music Player: Winamp

Price: Free, $20 for Pro version
Download Page

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Photo Management: Picasa

Price: Free
Download Page

COMMUNICATION

Email Client: Thunderbird

Platform: Mac OS X
Price: Free
Download Page

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Instant Messaging: Pidgin

Price: Free, open source
Download Page

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Video Chat: Google+ Hangouts

Price: Free

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Twitter Client: TweetDeck

Price: Free
Download Page

PRODUCTIVITY

Web Browser: Chrome

Price: Free
Download Page

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Calendar: Google Calendar

Price: Free

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Word Processing: LibreOffice Writer

Price: Free
Download Page

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Spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel

Price: $120-200 (Part of Microsoft Office)
Download Page

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Presentations: Microsoft PowerPoint

Price: $120-$200 (Part of Microsoft Office)
Download Page

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News Reader: FeedDemon

Price: Free, $20 Pro
Download Page

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PDF Viewer/Editor: PDF-XChange Viewer

Price: Free, $37.50 Pro
Download Page

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To-Do: Wunderlist

Price: Free
Download Page

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Text Expansion: PhraseExpress

Price: Free (for Personal Use)
Download Page

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Syncing Note-Taker: ResophNotes

Price: Free
Download Page

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Time Tracking: Klok

Price: Free ($16 Pro)
Download Page

UTILITIES

System Tweaker: Ultimate Windows Tweaker

Price: Free
Download Page

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BitTorrent Client: µTorrent

Price: Free
Download Page

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Microsoft Security Essentials

Price: Free
Download Page

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Application Launcher: Launchy

Price: Free
Download Page

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Virtualization: VirtualBox

Price: Free
Download Page

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Alternative File Browser: Xplorer2

Price: $30, free lite version available
Download Page

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Disc Burning: CDBurnerXP

Price: Free
Download Page

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Wallpaper Manager: John's Background Switcher

Price: Free
Download Page

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Key Remapper: KeyTweak

Price: Free
Download Page

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Terminal Emulator: Console2

Price: Free
Download Page

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System Monitor: Rainmeter

Price: Free
Download Page

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File Archive Utility: 7-Zip

Price: Free
Download Page

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Screen Capture: PicPick

Price: Free
Download Page

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Quick File Uploader: FluffyApp

Price: Free
Download Page

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Disk Cloning: DriveImage XML

Price: Free
Download Page

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Programming Text Editor: Notepad++

Price: Free (open source)
Download Page

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FTP: FileZilla

Price: Free
Download Page

Internet Adverts... 99% of the time, pointless.

I seen a comment today about Internet adverts that appear on blogs, facebook, social medias, or other websites with self generating adverts. You know, those sometimes little square adds on the side of a blog, or the Google adverts on the side/bottom of the website? Yeah. Those ones.

The comment was something to the effect of:

"How and why do the know and advertise things that I have already searched/paid for?!"

It is very annoying and sometimes quite intriguing. How do they know!? Why are they advertising now after Ive finished browsing for <insert desired item/service here>. Well, quite simply, whenever you browse the Internet, you are requesting information about a specific location, downloading that information, then your preferred Internet Browser then presents this information.

So when you add something to a basket, fill in a form/username/password, this information can be saved and stored on you computer in the form of a "Cookie". The information that is saved is purely dependent on your preferences. Such as, "do you want (x) to save your password for next time?"

What is a Cookie?

According to TechTarget, a cookie is:

"A cookie is information that a Web site puts on your hard disk so that it can remember something about you at a later time. (More technically, it is information for future use that is stored by the server on the clientside of a client/servercommunication.) Typically, a cookie records your preferences."

So what can you do about these little bits of information that are saved on your computer, then recalled at an appropriate time when on the Internet? Well, I suppose you can "eat" them?

Ok, so how do you "eat" them?

There are a number of processed you can do or utility programs that can be used to eradicate unwanted downloaded information.

1.Delete you Internet History, including deleting all cookies, stored databases, passwords and preferences

2. Dowloand CCleaner or Glary Utilities - These utility programs are great for getting this job done. There are free for the standard versions (which will suffice).

3. Be sure to keep these utility programs up-to-date, along with your OS and your anti-virus software.

You will find that these adverts wont be connected to your browsing habits from now on, although the longer you browse, the more you download. the more you download, the more that is stored about you. So after a while, the adverts will appear. When they do... repeat above!

Good luck!

Cavtec Systems Limited



Cavtec Systems Limited, established 1991. Providing the finest quality computer support and additional services to Small Medium Enterprises and Home users. Newcastle upon Tyne, London and East Grinstead.
http://www.cavtec.co.uk
admin@cavtec.co.uk