Computer Tips And Tricks, Gadgets, How-To, Life – 2.0 Style
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What was earlier known as Microsoft Office Outlook, now is just Microsoft Outlook. There are two versions of it available –
1> you can use it as a personal information manager,
2> it can also be use as an Office suite.
The latest download-able version, available now, as I type this post is Microsoft Outlook 2010.
Download free trial of Microsoft Outlook 2010
Alternative Software For Microsoft Outlook
1> Mozilla Seamonkey, is a free office suite.
Convert Text On Any Website To Speech With This Free Software
Internet Text Speaker is a fantastic software program which can be used to convert the text on any website to speech. The program works with both the popular browsers such as internet explorer and Firefox. On installation of the program it gets integrated into the browser. In the case of Firefox, the program gets into the context menu.
For converting the text to speech, one has to select the specific portion of the text by highlighting the same on the website and right click the mouse button and select Speak Text from the drop down menu. The program will start reading the text for you. The program is a boon for those who have better listening skills than reading skills on the language.
While listening to the text you can make various adjustments such as volume, read rate, voice and many other parameters. This program is the right choice if you want someone to read out the web page to you. The program finds application in cases where someone is not able to read and understand the text on the website.
This fantastic software is a freeware and is downloadable free of cost. Currently only English language is supported though there are plans to include the other languages in future versions.
[ Download Internet Text Speaker ]
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Are you wondering if there is any free software that lets you extract audio from videos ? If yes, then Any Audio Converter is your solution.
Any Audio Converter is an extremely useful tool to convert audio files from one format to another. It can also be used to extract audio files from the videos. The software supports almost all popular formats such as MP4, WMV, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, M4A, MP3, MP2 etc. It can also do conversion on a large number of files in a batch mode.
The software is easy to install and use. The interface is user friendly and lets you to convert the audio and video files to any of the supported formats with few clicks on the mouse. Many of the functions are automated and that makes the task of conversion and extraction that much easier. The conversions are handled at a good speed.
While extracting audio files from the video track, there is provision to have a preview and it is also possible to set beginning and end points of extraction for the audio track. The player also supports playback of audio files in almost all the formats.
While there are number of players available in the market for conversion, Any Audio Converter beats all of them in terms of features, speed and flexibility. The player is freely downloadable and supports major operating systems.
One drawback is that the player does not support 160 output bit rate. Some of the formats such as M4A, FLAC, M4B, OGG and APE, are also not supported fully.
In this article, I’ll not be getting into the topic of, how to go about finding the individual device drivers (those who do not know, read what device drivers are) and taking their backups manually. Not all of us have the time or the patience to first learn about how to identify the device drivers, and about how to take their backups.
Well, why would you actually need to go through all the trouble, when you could easily use free software, with which you can easily take the backups of all your device drivers and restore them whenever the need arises?
However, you will be able to get the latest updates of the drivers on this software, only if you purchase the paid versions. DriverMax is a very handy application which is compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista. If you do not go through the free registration process, you will get a reminder splash screen while running the software.
This is a very useful application to have, and I barely had any idea about some of the device drivers that it actually identified in my system. When I cross verified it, I was pretty happy, that it had backed up all my current drivers.
While running the software, it will first identify all the drivers and display the list for your confirmation. Please be patient while it backs up your drivers, and you can see the progress on the software while it is happening.
Your drivers will normally amount up to 40 MB in size, and they could be compressed to around 20 MB. You could also organize them into neat folders and zip them for future use.
If you are concerned about the health of your computer, you might want to buy the software that will give you the most updated device driver versions for your computer. Normally such software cost around 30 to $40.00 but I feel that they are well worth the buy. If you can afford, do not think twice. The hassle it saves you from, and the time you save because of it in the long run is worth $$$.
Some of the popular driver backup software (paid) applications are:
My Drivers – This software has a huge database of more than 58,000 drivers. They offer other special backup facilities like saving your bookmarks and favorites, and backing up the data on e-mail clients like the Microsoft outlook. This software costs $39.00.
Driver Magician – This device driver software costs $30.00 and you can get the latest device drivers of all your hardware.
Apart from the above mentioned software, there might be other software which will give you better features and options than what the Driver Max does. Please feel free to write to us if you have any suggestions that could help our readers.
Sometimes we download some PDF files from internet and want to convert them into word documents or excel sheets, so that we can make changes according to our need. However this task of conversion is not that simple and most of us would not like to spend those extra bucks in purchasing that conversion software. What you want is a simple and free solution. So if you ever felt the same need to convert PDFs into Word and Excel documents then try out Nitro Software’s free online conversion. It is totally free, no need to install even, just visit the website and covert your documents in your desired format.
It simply converts your PDF files to word or excel formats. Nitro, who are also makers of the Prime PDF software, offers two web services – PDF to Word and PDF to Excel.
You just have to visit the respective website. There you will find an option to upload your PDF document and then you have to submit your email address. In few seconds you will be have the converted document in your inbox.
For PDF to Word conversion, you have the facility to convert your PDF files into Word as well as RTF formats whereas in PDF to Excel conversion, it can only convert the file into XLS. Both these softwares are in Beta stage, but give you accurate output with small details like same font, images and layouts.
The biggest advantage is that they do not add any kind of logo to the converted documents, and the size limit of documents is not mentioned anywhere on the main website. However after a quick search you will notice that the size limit of documents to be uploaded and converted is 12MB. So get ready to a whole new experience of converting your PDF files into Word or Excel without any extra expenses and with prompt services.
Having to run through your mundane tasks such as a simple disk cleanup without having to go through the routine steps like selecting the Start menu then Programs followed by Accessories before you can accomplish your task, can be quite a relief. Well, a new free keystroke launcher known as Launchy now allows you to do just that and in fact much more. This cross platform utility is designed to index the programs in the start menu and retrieve your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks without you manually having to browse to the folder or opening the start menu itself.
So as you start keying in the search in real time, a list of the matching programs and documents are revealed. Once you find the desired program, just hit the “Enter” key to launch it. While the default settings are programmed to search for programmes, users can search for documents as well. This allows you to search for just about anything on the computer from music and data files to videos and games. You can also run Google, Yahoo and Wikipedia searches or launch bookmarks. This tool is also equipped with additional plug ins that making its versatility quite attractive to users
Once you have downloaded the tool, it launches itself automatically while the computer boots and does not reveal itself unless you select the “alt” key as you tap the space key. To allow the tool to fade away again into the background repeat the same step or just press the escape button on your keyboard. The only drawback is the system space that it occupies which is close to 10MB of memory. In contrast to this, application launchers like SkyLight are much smaller and lighter on the system. Launchy is compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP.
[ Download Launchy ]
A reliable player in the security market, Avira’s AntiVir Personal Free Edition lives up to the high standards set by the company. Launched in 2008, this free security tool scans and protects your computer against spyware and other malicious programs such as Trojans, hoaxes, worms and backdoor programs, thus offering it protection at no extra cost. Moreover the tool also helps keep a tab on the users or programs that are engaged in the malicious usage of the system’s resources or any other harmful executions. In fact it is the strong detection rats of this tool that has made it so popular in the security market.
Its range of power packed features includes Antidialer that protects against expensive dialers along with functionalities like the protection against concealed rootkits, protection against phishing, adware and spyware. It features a real time scanner, daily free updates, boot records scan and many more great features. You cab view the Scanner, Guard, Quarantine, and Scheduler features in the Local Protection and Administration navigation options. Netbook support for laptops with low resolution is provided. In addition to the Avira Antivirus packs a powerful punch with the scan customization facilities that allow you to scan internal and external drives, run preloaded scans for rootkits etc. The Configuration button located at the top of the central pane allows the users to customize the scans based on what they want.
One of the best parts about Avira AntiVIr Personal Free Edition is that it is quite light on system resources using just around around 10mb memory. In addition it features help facilities that are good for a free antivirus app, with mouse-over information on each feature. Unlike its competitors the new Avira Antivirus version does not require an uninstallation tool. While it is an excellent security backup, most of its features have been surpassed by its competitors.
As we all know, Microsoft products are priced very high, but at the same time, are filled with programs, and also new products are being introduced year after year. MS Office can be considered as yet another costly product from the MS house, ranging anywhere from150-500 $, based on its edition.
Like all other MS products, this too has its free supplement. Even if they do not contain all of the MS Office original features, they do carry adequate features so as to perform the same tasks as MS Office and they are absolutely free to download!
BEST MS OFFICE ALTERNATIVES.
This is a famous Open Source Office Supplement which takes care of most of your work, which the MS Office Edition does. It can be utilized for word processing package, text editing, export files to other formats like swf files, create presentations etc. Open Office even provides Add-ons to enrich the features of the products based o its users needs. This can therefore be a highly sought after supplement!
Look at Plus Office, one more addition to the list of MS Office supplements, which is very much similar to Open Office. This assists in your drawing vectors, makes high standard presentations, opens and edits spread sheets files. You will be pleased to learn that Plus Office as simple easy to handle interface, and lets you Save file format to PDF Extensions. What’s more, you are free to use this license [free of cost] with any number of computers, whether for yourself or for any business.
Manage your finances with ease: Use FineAnces
There are numerous financing and accounting softwares available on the web. However, to find the right one for yourself – something that is cheap and easy to understand – is really hard. FineAnces, a simple accounting tool released by the Byteko group, is just pitched at the right level – so that the common man finds it easy to record and gauge his income-expense trends. What’s more – you can try it for free, and then pay a mere $20 if you wish to buy it.
FineAnces has a spartan and intuitive design that you can get used to within no time at all. The main window of this tool guides you to the specific sections that handle all the different functions – savings, cash expenses, credit card cash flows, and the like. It also supports multiple accounts for your umpteen number of credit cards and bank accounts.
Moreover, this application places a small icon in the system tray that lets you access the software with only two clicks. You can even add a new expense head/item directly from the system try icon without even accessing the actual mainframe of the application. On selecting multiple items in a particular account item list, a total summary of the expense/savings is displayed.
You can also use FineAnces to track the repayment of loans and monitor the trends in your incomes, expenditures, and savings. One thing is that this tool is designed for basic financial needs and does not feature any of the more complex financial management systems such income tax tracking, stock monitoring, etc.
However, if you simply want to get a handle on your financial patterns, FineAnces is the right thing for you. For more complex functions, you might want to look up other applications such as Free Accounting Software.
FineAnces is compatible with Windows XP, 2000 and Vista, and the latest version can be downloaded from here.