TeraCopy is truly the best way of copying files in Windows

Overview:

TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user a lot of features.

Features:

* Copy files faster. TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives.

* Pause and resume file transfers. Pause copy process at any time to free up system resources and continue with a single click.

* Error recovery. In case of copy error, TeraCopy will try several times and in the worse case just skips the file, not terminating the entire transfer.

* Interactive file list. TeraCopy shows failed file transfers and lets you fix the problem and recopy only problem files.

* Shell integration. TeraCopy can completely replace Explorer copy and move functions, allowing you work with files as usual.

* Full Unicode support.

Review:

Copying large files in Windows XP just sucks, a lot. Not only do you get subpar speeds most of the time, the damn remaining time fluctuates so much that you wonder how nobody at Microsoft could come up with something better. Thankfully there is a much more competent alternative in the form of TeraCopy. Not only TeraCopy is faster that the standard explorer copy it can also pause and resume transfers, skip bad files without canceling the whole copying process, add files to the queu in an already started copying process and completely replace the standard Windows explorer copy which is something truly awesome and handy. Teracopy also shows accurate progress reports in the form of percentage of copying so far, time remaining, numbers of files to be copied and did i mention it’s portable? For all this reasons i truly suggest you ditch the old crappy way of copying files in Windows and use TeraCopy. Available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista.

Get it at http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php

Frontmotion login spices up your windows logons

Frontmotion login changes your boring normal logon with flashy animated graphics, its awesome because it requires no extra system resources or dll hacking plus it supports user made logons.

Features

• User reconfigurable logon interface
• Interactive Macromedia Flash Themes
• Remote Desktop support in Windows XP and Terminal Services support.
• Fast User Switching support in Windows XP (Standalone and Domain Mode)
• Configurable Windows 2000 or Windows XP security behavior (Runs Task Manager on Ctrl-Alt-Del)
• Screen Rotation support
• Windows XP Password Reset Wizard support.
• No DLL hacking required. Safe even after Service Pack upgrades.
• Built-in ‘recovery mode’.

Benefits

• System Branding
• Combine with Flash Remoting to present dynamic information

Active Directory Support

• MSI remote deployment using AD
• Security Policy (GPO) support
• User setting override

front motion login is a free download for Windows NT, 2000 and Windows XP

get it at http://www.frontmotion.com/FMLogin/index.htm

GPU-Z shows you all you need to know about your video card

GPU-Z is the perfect companion to CPU-Z since the latter can`t give information about your video card, with GPU-Z you will know everything there is to know about your video card like its name, default clocks, display information, driver name, Etc.
in addition you can upload your results to an online database showing all the results uploaded so far, unfortunately i couldn`t run the program because of the crappy savage integrated card that i have in my computer, but don`t let that let you down since the program supports most mainstream cards from ATI and Nvidia plus since its being constantly updated you can be sure it will support future cards too.
GPU-Z is a great little utility for windows 2000/XP/Vista.

Features

* Support NVIDIA and ATI cards
* Displays adapter, GPU and display information
* Displays overclock, default clocks and 3D clocks (if available)
* Validation of results
* No installation required
* Support for Windows 2000 / XP / Vista (both 32 and 64 bit versions are supported)

get it at http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

Need to access your BIOS but don`t have the password?, use CmosPwd

CmosPwd can crack, backup and restore BIOS passwords, you can even kill/clear the Cmos if cmospwd can`t crack the bios. There are several ways of using Cmospwd but the one i found the most simple and straightforward was to simply create a DOS boot disk and run it from there since if you want to run cmospwd from windows you have to install a potentially dangerous driver.

Here`s a small tutorial:

1.- right click on the portable device that you want to use as a DOS boot disk, it can be a usb flash drive or a floppy disk but i had to use a floppy disk since my BIOS wasn`t configured to boot from an USB device.

2.- select the format option , then from the window that appears check the “Create an MS-DOS startup disk” and click start.

3.- Download the cmospwd zip and extract it, then enter the new created folder and look for another folder called DOS, copy this folder to your newly created MS-DOS startup disk (I copied the whole cmospwd-5.0 folder but this should work too).

4.- Reboot your computer and pay extra attention as to what kind of BIOS you have, look for the BIOS word and the word right beside it, write the BIOS name and write it down since you will be needing that later.

5.- The DOS interface should start automatically from MS-Dos disk you have created.

6.- A prompt should appear , now simply type CD DOS and the prompt should change into something like A:\DOS: , then type cmospwd and the program should start.

7.- CmosPwd will show a long list of names, these are the different types of BIOS it can handle, locate your BIOS name on the list and write down the symbols that appear on the right side.

8.- Now once you are at the prompt again type cmospwd then / and finally the symbols that belonged to the name of your BIOS.

9.- Finally it will show the commands that it can do like backup,restore, Etc. however if you don`t wanna do all those things or find them too complicated just type cmospwd / K this will attempt to clear the BIOS erasing the password, however keep in mind that this will also erase all of the BIOS settings that are critical to the functioning of your computer so you will probably want to enter the BIOS and load the optimal values so that you can keep using your PC.

CmosPwd is a great program that just helped me in getting rid of my nagging BIOS password that i had been trying to bypass for years, i definitely recommend it. Available for Windows DOS/98/NT/W2K/XP/2003 and linux.

Works with the following BIOSes

• ACER/IBM BIOS
• AMI BIOS
• AMI WinBIOS 2.5
• Award 4.5x/4.6x/6.0
• Compaq (1992)
• Compaq (New version)
• IBM (PS/2, Activa, Thinkpad)
• Packard Bell
• Phoenix 1.00.09.AC0 (1994), a486 1.03, 1.04, 1.10 A03, 4.05 rev 1.02.943, 4.06 rev 1.13.1107
• Phoenix 4 release 6 (User)
• Gateway Solo – Phoenix 4.0 release 6
• Toshiba
• Zenith AMI

Get it at http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/CmosPwd

WinMD5Sum will check and compare the MD5 sums of files

Overview:

WinMD5 is a small utility for the checking and comparing of MD5 sums.

Review:

Checking the integrity of a downloaded file its not easy but it could be with winMD5sum. Some websites give the MD5 checksum of a file for verification purposes, with winMd5sum you can compare the checksum of the file you have downloaded versus the checksum given at the site, if they match your file has been downloaded correctly, if its not a match then your download is corrupt. Using winMd5 is very easy and straightforward, it evens adds a sendto menu entry for easy checking of files. In conclusion WinMD5sum is a simple way of checking if you have downloaded something correctly.

Get it at http://www.nullriver.com/products/winmd5sum

System Spec is a portable utility for the gathering of info about your PC

Overview:

What is System Spec ?, A utility to produce a specification of your system’s hardware and software.
With System Spec you can see, save and print a complete spec of your PC. This standalone, system information utility can also perform various windows functions. Additional advanced info includes CPU, drives, applications, display, memory, networking, internet, CD / DVD drives and more.

Features:

System Information Shown

* Computer Name
* Username
* IP Address
* MAC Address
* Windows version and service pack
* Windows Serial Number
* Internet Explorer Version
* Memory
* CPU Type and speed
* Calculated CPU Speed
* Sound card type
* Video and virtual video adapters
* Screen Resolution
* Network Present
* Network Adapters
* AC Power Status for laptops
* Battery Charge Status for laptops
* Time Zone
* CD / DVD Make and model
* COM Ports
* LPT Ports
* Mouse capabilities
* Hard Disks
* Hard Disks Serial Number
* BIOS Date
* PC Serial number
* Manufacturer
* PC Product
* PCMCIA Laptops
* USB ports
* Firewire ports
* Motherboard
* Modem

Windows function such as shutting down and run can be performed from the System menu. The Control Panel menu allows you to quickly open items from the Control Panel.

Other screen and system information shown.

* Personal
* Memory
* Display
* Drives
* CD / DVD
* CPU
* CPU Meter
* Processes
* Services
* Internet
* Programs
* Start-up
* Network
* Network Adapters
* Browse Network
* User List
* Printers
* Sound
* Devices

Review:

Knowing your computer is important, it allows you to know its capabilities if you want to upgrade your computer or in looking a specific driver. With that said one of the most simple and straightforward ways of getting to know your PC has to be system spec, just run it and system spec will show a basic overview of the hardware and software that you have, you can see more advanced reports using the icons on the upper right, in addition you can run several windows functions from one place making this a good method of running those services.
In conclusion system spec is pretty awesome and portable too, so use it if you want learn more about your computer hardware. Available for Windows 98/2000/XP.

Get it at http://www.alexnolan.net/software/sysspec.htm

Add shortcuts on your desktop automatically when inserting drives or media with Desk Drive

Overview:

Desk Drive™ solves a really annoying problem. You pop a USB thumb drive or DVD into your computer and then you have to open Window’s Explorer and find the mapped drive or folder. Desk Drive adds a desktop icon pointing to the drive automatically. Remove the media and the shortcut goes away. Brilliantly simple and effective.

Desk Drive sits quietly in the system tray. Configuration image at right is just a click away and allows you to specify which types of media to monitor. So simple, it just works. Download it today!

System Requirements:

Windows XP/Vista

.Net Framework 2.0

Review:

So one of the cool things that ubuntu had over windows when i tried it was something so simple like adding a shortcut to a recently inserted media like a CDROM or pendrive, it made knowing what stuff you had inserted in your PC very easy and in addition you could access your stuff without opening the ubuntu explorer. Anyway this functionality can be replicated in windows by using desk drive, it will sit on the system tray and will add a shortcut to whatever stuff you insert in your PC , these shortcuts will disappear once you remove whatever you have put in, you can choose with drives will be monitored and btw i suggest you remove your floppy drive otherwise desk drive will search for inserted floppies constantly which will cause a constant and annoying sound, at least that is what happened to me. In my system desk drive used between 10MB to 20MB which is ok i guess for those rich people that have like a gig of ram and more (yes i am bitter because i only 256MB, oh wait i mean 224MB after you subtract the shared memory that the integrated video uses….i hate my PC).
So in conclusion use desk drive if you feel interested in having a shortcut for every media that you inserted. Available for Windows XP/Vista.

Get at it http://blueonionsoftware.com/DeskDrive.aspx

Multiple Image Resizer .NET is an excellent batch image processor

Overview:

With Multiple Image Resizer .NET, you can resize, add borders, add text, overlay images, crop, rotate and flip – with a few simple mouse clicks.

Features:

Batch Image Processing Features

* Resize images

* Rotate images

* Flip images

* Add borders to images

* Add text to images including file and Exif information

* Crop images

* Overlay / Watermark images with another image

Other Features

* Flexible command line batch image processing scripting engine

* Preview of unprocessed and processed images

* Ability to save and load image processing settings

* Ability to alter the order in which batch processing features are applied to images

* Customisable user interface

* Fully integrated help documentation

* Check for updates feature

* Multi-language – English, Spanish, Dutch, Danish, French, Portuguese, Czech, Galician, German, Italian and Hungarian

Supported Image Files

Multiple Image Resizer .NET can open images in 28 image formats, and save processed images in 16 image formats:

* Windows Bitmap .bmp – [Open and Save]

* Dr. Halo .cut – [Open]

* DirectDraw Surface .dds – [Open]

* Enhanced Windows Metafile .emf – [Open and Save]

* Exchangeable Image File .exif – [Open and Save]

* Graphics Interchange Format .gif – [Open and Save]

* High Dynamic Range .hdr – [Open and Save]

* Windows Icon .ico – [Open and Save]

* Amiga IFF .iff – [Open]

* Deluxe Paint .lbm – [Open]

* JPEG Network Graphics .jng – [Open]

* JPEG Format .jpg, .jpeg, .jif, .jpe – [Open and Save]

* Commodore 64 Koala .koa – [Open]

* Multiple Network Graphics .mng – [Open]

* Portable Bitmap ASCII & Binary .pbm – [Open and Save]

* Kodak PhotoCD .pcd – [Open]

* Zsoft Paintbrush PCX Bitmap .pcx – [Open]

* Portable Graymap ASCII & Binary .pgm – [Open and Save]

* Portable Network Graphics .png – [Open and Save]

* Portable Pixelmap ASCII & Binary .ppm – [Open and Save]

* Adobe Photoshop .psd – [Open]

* Sun Rasterfile .ras – [Open]

* Truevision Targa .tga, .targa – [Open and Save]

* Tagged Image File Format .tif, .tiff – [Open and Save]

* Wireless Bitmap .wbmp – [Open and Save]

* Windows Metafile .wmf – [Open and Save]

* X11 Bitmap Format .xbm – [Open]

* X11 Pixmap Format .xpm – [Open and Save]

Review:

Some people have a constant need of resizing their pictures , now i am not of those people but if you are then i suggest you use multiple image resizer .NET. Like the name says it will resize your pictures but its capable of doing so much more like crop; rotate; flip; add text; add borders and add images, all of these processing options can be carried out together with a batch of images which makes this program very versatile in my opinion. If there is a downsize to all of the awesomeness (Is that even a word?) found in this package then it must be the time it takes to start when you run multiple it, its only a few seconds but i could notice it in my system which is kinda disappointing…anyway this is still a great program that could come in handy to all of you photographers or other people in need of image manipulation. Available for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.

Get it at http://www.multipleimageresizer.net/

PhotoFiltre is an image editor with a large amount of image effects

Overview:

PhotoFiltre is a complete image retouching program. It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a vast range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve. The toolbar, giving you access to the standard filters with just a few clicks, gives PhotoFiltre a robust look.

Features:

*Image browser

*Plug-in management

*Scanning of images using a TWAIN compatible device scanner, webcam, photocamera

*Transparency management for GIF images and exporting them to icons 16, 256 or 16 millions of colors

*Advanced text effects rotation, shading, bevel

*Several types of contours and textures

*Blending and assembling of images

Review:

Editing pictures can be a complicated process that requires some work, thankfully this can be made easier by using photofiltre. This program is an image editor with a simple but effective user interface that can be used to apply a variety of filters and effects like making a picture look like it was taken a century ago for example, you can get even more effects by downloading the plugins available in the official site. In addition to the editing there is a nice batch processor that will allow you to apply various effects to several pictures at the same time. Unfortunately this program doesn´t support layers like photoshop which is disappointing, hopefully this will be added in a future version.
In conclusion if you want a simple image editor with a bunch of image effects then i suggest you use photofiltre. Available for Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.

Get it at http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm

Merge lots of PDFs into a single file with PDFMerge

Overview:

PdfMerge was written to fill the need for producing large PDF documents from multiple sources in an automated way.

Features:

• Allows the split and merge process to be driven from a list file
• Allows the creation of bookmark trees by specifying bookmarks to be added (bookmarks are also called outlines)
• Allows the import of bookmarks from the merged documents.
• Supports merging of large documents quickly
• Allows population of document title fields

Review:

If for some reason you need to be able to merge several PDFs together then PDFMerge is just what you are looking for. like the name says you can take any number of PDF documents and merge them into a single file. you can select the pages and bookmarks that will be merged which is very useful in keeping control of the output. Unfortunately it appears that this program can’t merge password protected files which is a shame but i guess its understandable. PDFMerge is a great program for the merging of PDF files that just works. Available for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.

Get it at http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfmerge/