Guest Post by Ishan Sharma

Windows is the world’s most popular OS. There are millions of softwares for it. In this post, I have summed up 10 free softwares that you will find very useful. Without any further addo, here are they:

1. Launchy

Launchy will make you forget about Start Menu and even Windows Explorer! It is a small utility that lets you launch programs easily with a few keystrokes. By default, you need to press Alt + Space and it will show up. Just type name of application and hit enter to launch it. You can select the areas to index(start menu, drives etc.). A very nifty utility if you have lot of programs in start menu.

Download Launchy

2. CCleaner

CCleaner lets you remove useless keys in Windows Registery safely. I am using “safely” because it can backup all the changes made to registry. It can also remove browsing traces, private data and unused files. There’s also a Program UIninstallation option that lets you remove programs and left over registry entries of such programs. It will help a lot in keeping your PC clean.

Download CCleaner

3. Fresh UI

Fresh UI lets you apply many tweaks to user interface of your Windows without having you to go deep down into the dark cave full of dangers (in short, Windows Registry )! There are lot of tweaks available right from changing boot screen to removing those shortcut arrows from, well, shortcuts(I hate them!).

Download Fresh UI

4. BootVis

Bootvis is a free utility from Microsoft that lets you optimize your PC for shorter Start Up times. It also defragments your startup programs so that they load up faster. However, it works only with XP!

Download BootVis

5. K-Lite Codec Pack

K-Lite Codec Pack has all the essential codecs needed to play major audio/video formats. Install it and forget it, no need to hunt for any codec individually. It also has Media Player Classic which is a light media player.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack

6. Q10

This is, in my opinion, the best software ever made for writers! Before I tell you anything about it, close your eyes, take a deep breath and count how many times you were distracted when writing your last post. Q10 removes all those distraction by occupying all the space available on your screen(in short, it’s a full screen text editor) With no toolbars, no status bars and not even a title bar, this software is perfect for people who like to write without distractions.

Download Q10

7. Game Booster

At any time, there are 25+ useless process running in background on your windows PC. They can take up a good amount of RAM and CPU and this can make games frame. If you experience slow-down with games(especially in crowded areas), try Game Booster. It will close all the useless programs thus increasing amount of available resources.

Download Game Booster

8. Pidgin

Pidgin is what the doctor has ordered for IM addicts(however, the doctor in case is evil as Pidgin will only make you more addicted!). You can easily manage multiple accounts including many popular services like GTalk, Yahoo Messenger and Windows Live Messenger.

Download Pidgin

9. Opera

Opera is web-browser complete web-suite that is master of all trades. In small 6 MB pack, you get most standard compliant browser, a capable mail client, RSS reader, widget support, Dragonfly(web page debugger) and notes manager. Opera 10 also has a “Turbo” mode in which it can fasten surfing speeds on slow connections(by compressing images).

Download Opera

10. Your Choice

I will leave this one on readers. Tell me which software you would like to see in this list and why.

This was a guest post by Ishan Sharma. He blogs on Blogging With Success. If you liked this article, check out How To Sell A Dead Horse For $500 by him.

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In a TED Presentation, David Pogue says how Simplicity Sells when it comes to Software design. I think Tudumo is just what simplicity is meant to be. I can say that because I actually sold a copy of it.

Tudumo is a To-Do list maker. It is a clean and elegant way to manage your tasks.

To start with, head over to Tudumo.com and download a trial copy. Unlike many other trial software’s, you don’t have to wait for a splash screen and you are not reminded about registration. For 60 days, you can use the whole full version of Tudumo as good as a registered one.

How Tudumo Works

Tudumo uses Headings and Tags to organize the list. You can add all the actions (tasks) related to a specific project under a heading, for instance, and all the things you got to buy from the store under a common tag.

One can set a due date and time for a particular action, and when its about time, Tudumo gives an alert. Every action can have any of the 6 states. For instance, actions that are not important at the moment can get the status ‘Someday/Maybe’

The software installation comes with some sample headings and tags and some shortcut tips. The help is also simple, yet comprehensive.

Shortcuts

There are some easy shortcuts to deal with all the tasks. The Quick Add Shortcut (Win KEY + Ctrl + T) is amazing; a small window pops up – add a task and tag right from there. Anything followed by @ in the quick add window is considered as a tag.

Another thought out shortcut is the Esc key. Pressing Escape key closes down Tudumo to the Task tray, near the system clock.

(Common Shortcuts: Ctrl + N for new task; Ctrl + H for new Heading; Ctrl + T to add a tag; Ctrl + D to set the due Date. Press Ctrl + F1 for more Shortcuts)

Tudumo Live

Screen shot of a Tudumo Window:

• Green Dot – Action or Task
• Red – Heading
• Blue – Due Date (when the task is overdue, the date turns red)
• Orange – State of a Task
• Black – Filter (based on state of tasks)
• Pink – Tags (clicking it shows tasks with the same tag)

On my Vista Home Premium 64-bit, I had a minor problem. I have set it to start minimized when windows starts, but it just wouldn’t start minimized.

For $30 a copy, its well worth an investment. Try it out, I bet you will like it.

Do you use any similar GTD software? How do you manage your tasks?

Related: Time Management Tips for the Busy Bloggers

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Every Broadband user is not privileged with unlimited bandwidth usage. With websites putting up lots of Flash embeds and auto starting videos you are very likely to finish up your monthly free bandwidth allowance in no time. Tracking the real time Usage is impossible because it takes a while to update the usage stats on the service provider’s portal.

Thankfully, Shaplus Softwares brings you a Free Bandwidth Monitor that meters the usage in real time. It stays on your taskbar near the system clock and records the usage. Once you click it, you get the bandwidth usage of the current session, Today’s total bandwidth usage and the usage of the current month.

Why should you use Shaplus Bandwidth Meter?

There are tons of other Bandwidth monitors out there, then why should you choose this one? Here are the best features this software…

• Freeware: It doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket. Shaplus Bandwidth meter is totally free!
• Light-weight: The latest release is just 101 KB, which means close-to-zero load time.
• Simplicity: SBM does not have a real menu, all the features are self explanatory and the only menu it has is the Shortcut menu that appears when you right click the icon on the taskbar. It does not give you a lot of options, but it does the job!
• Blocks Flash and Images: Internet Explorer users can’t block Images or Flash easily. SBM can block IE Flash and Images saving valuable bandwidth. To see a Blocked image, right click the image and select ‘Show Image’
• Records History: Displays Monthly totals and keeps a record of usages over the past months.
• Set Tracking Time: Some Broadband users have free usage hours at night or some hours of the day. You can set the time intervals when you want SBM to stop tracking. You can find this under its settings.

Once you install it, it’s very important that you select the Right Network Interfaces that need to be monitored. Connect to the Internet and all the available Network Interfaces will be displayed under the Settings in the Right Click Menu. It will display the LAN connection that you may have with another computer or Modem. If you select all of them, you may see your usage shooting up, because SBM will add all the usages including LAN usage. Actually only the internet usage matters, so select the appropriate interface for best results.

Shaplus Bandwidth Meter Showing Stats when Clicked

Once you install this Free Bandwidth Meter, do not change the time of the system clock. Doing that resets the meter. Well that’s one way to reset the meter

Download Shaplus Bandwidth Meter Now!

A Quick Flash Tutorial is included on the download page. Trust me; the tutorial is not more than 0.13 MB!

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