PC Software Daily Giveaway

[CappinCanuck]

Hey Folks,

Since someone took the liberty to post a free(iphone)appoftheday, I'll post one of my favourites. Giveaway of the Day (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com). They giveaway different software daily.

My most valued freebies so far are: Inpaint, AnVir Task Manager, O&O 10 Professional, WinDVDX Pro or Gold or whatever it was, among others I am forgetting :).

Itemized Giveaway Log:

2010/05/01 - Pixo
2010/05/02 - AV Video Morpher 3.0
2010/05/03 - Aston Menu
2010/05/04 - Music Making in MS Word 1.5
2010/05/05 - Paragon Drive Backup 9.5 Professional Edition
2010/05/06 - uMark Professional 1.3
2010/05/07 - PDFZilla 1.2.9
2010/05/08 - WinX Cell Phone Video Converter
2010/05/09 - Angel’s Vox 1.4
2010/05/10 - Atmosphere Lite Plus
2010/05/11 - AltDesk
2010/05/12 - Sothink DHTML Menu 9.3
2010/05/13 - Wondershare USB Drive Encryption
2010/05/14 - 3D Text
2010/05/15 - Gold Fish Animated Wallpaper
2010/05/16 - Uconomix SnapLogger
2010/05/17 - Skype Recorder
2010/05/18 - Media Buddy
2010/05/19 - easyQuizzy
2010/05/20 - 3D Ebook Cover
2010/05/21 - Process Lasso
2010/05/22 - FolderMage Pro
2010/05/23 - 3D Waterfall Screensaver
2010/05/24 - Ultima Website
2010/05/25 - Paragon Drive Copy 9.5 Personal Edition
2010/05/26 - Aston 2
2010/05/27 - Ashampoo WinOptimizer 6
2010/05/28 - Cleanse Uninstaller Pro 6.5
2010/05/29 - Forest Bridge Animated Wallpaper
2010/05/30 - RSS Feed Creator
2010/05/31 - iToolSoft PPT to Video
2010/06/01 - PDF OCR
2010/06/02 - Paragon System Backup 9.5
2010/06/03 - USBCrypt
2010/06/04 - Picture Collage Maker
2010/06/05 - ScreenCamera 2.1
2010/06/06 - MKV Converter Studio 2.0
2010/06/07 - WinUtilities Pro 9.6
2010/06/08 - Ashampoo Photo Commander 7
2010/06/09 - All My Books
2010/06/10 - DoubleSafety 4.5
2010/06/11 - RSS Wizard
2010/06/12 - PCHand Media Converter Pro
2010/06/13 - Easy Flyer Creator 2.0
2010/06/14 - Video to Picture Converter
2010/06/15 - Easy Watermarker
2010/06/16 - Flow
2010/06/17 - DAEMON Tools Pro Standard
2010/06/18 - NXPowerLite Desktop Edition
2010/06/19 - Podcast Wizard
2010/06/20 - WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe
2010/06/21 - USB Stick Encryption
2010/06/22 - Photo Frame Show
2010/06/23 - Chameleon Startup Manager 3.2
2010/06/24 - Web Page Maker
2010/06/25 - Astroburn Pro
2010/06/26 - Uconomix Encryption Engine 1.0
2010/06/27 - Classic Start Menu
2010/06/28 - Clone Terminator 3.0
2010/06/29 - Wondershare DemoCreator 3
2010/06/30 - MAXA Security Tools
2010/07/01 - Ashampoo Home Designer
2010/07/02 - iCare Data Recovery 3.8
2010/07/03 - Forest Life 3D Screensaver
2010/07/04 - Aiseesoft Total Video Converter
2010/07/05 - EASEUS Partition Master Professional Edition 6.0.1
2010/07/06 - AV Music Morpher 4.0
2010/07/07 - Registry Repair Pro
2010/07/08 - MagicScore Note 7
2010/07/09 - Tabbles Home
2010/07/10 - 3D Box Maker
2010/07/11 - LeKuSoft Blu-ray Ripper 5.50
2010/07/12 - InPaint 2.4
2010/07/13 - Cute Reminder Standard Edition
2010/07/14 - Spotmau Privacy Kit
2010/07/15 - Paragon Partition Manager 11SE Personal
2010/07/16 - Registry Defrag 6.0
2010/07/17 - Daniusoft DVD Creator
2010/07/18 - AllMedia Grabber 5.0
2010/07/19 - Simpo PDF Password Remover
2010/07/20 - Aneesoft Flash Gallery Classic 2.0
2010/07/21 - Genie Timeline Home 2.1
2010/07/22 - FLV Mate 1.3
2010/07/23 - BurnPro 5.1.1
2010/07/24 - Aimersoft Video Converter 4.0
2010/07/25 - 3D Formula 1 Screensaver
2010/07/26 - Flash-Creator 1.0
2010/07/27 - Image Converter Plus
2010/07/28 - Total Screen Recorder Gold 1.5
2010/07/29 - Driver Magician 3.5
2010/07/30 - Artensoft Photo Mosaic Wizard
2010/07/31 - BookRoom 1.0
2010/08/01 - Absolute Audio Converter]
2010/08/02 - Simple Money Manager Standard
2010/08/03 - 1AVStreamer
2010/08/04 - Nexus Ultimate
2010/08/05 - PDF to Word 3.0
2010/08/06 - Nature Illusion Studio Standard Edition
2010/08/07 - AllMyNotes Organizer Deluxe
2010/08/08 - Audio Jukebox
2010/08/09 - Element Anti-Virus 2011
2010/08/10 - Magnifying Glass Pro 1.8
2010/08/11 - Your monster voice 1.0

Note: Check the latest posts in the thread for info/reviews/links on past and present giveaways.

[Handmade.Mercury]

Sweet holy moly.

[Hawkzombie]

Interesting...I think I'll be keeping with this for a while.

[CappinCanuck]

Heads-up! This Friday they'll be giving away Online Armour ++.

[CappinCanuck]

Bump, maybe someone will bother coming in here for the great deal on Online Armour++ :P

[H.Bogard]

Is it better than AVG?

[CappinCanuck]

Sure is. Online Armor has won #1 firewall for a few years now. I would have both to be honest, some overlap is good. But it's worth it just for their firewall :).

[Jackel]

I downloaded it but I'm not sure I'll use it. I'm perfectly happy with my firewall on the router.

[J Arcane]

They have a game giveaway site as well: http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/

It's like 99% pure casual shovelware, but every now and then they put actual good games on there. I got Jets'n'Guns Gold for free from there once.

[CappinCanuck]

Bump for a good offering today.


Paragon System Backup 2010 Special Edition (English Version)

[roboninja]

Bump for a good offering today.


Paragon System Backup 2010 Special Edition (English Version)

Might check that out.

[Panthera]

http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/syncback-hub.html

This is free always. (scroll down for the freeware version)

[CappinCanuck]

http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/syncback-hub.html

This is free always. (scroll down for the freeware version)

Not as good though, IMO.


Either way, I'm going to post/bump today's offering since I've run across 2 or 3 threads about people who have recently lost data on a HD.



2010/02/23

Giveaway of the Day - MultiStage Recovery 4.1 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/)

Review

The Good
* Has different levels of scanning.
* Can preview files before restoring.
* You can restore multiple files at once.
* Can scan internal hard drives, disk images, and external media.
* Has a built in search tool.

The Bad
* OK recovery rate.
* Very slow.
* Program crashes when trying to scan whole hard drive(s).
* Not very clear on the “recoverability” of a file.
* Always starts fully maximized.

Doesn't seem like the best choice for paid software, worth a try if you're trying to recover something.

[Jackel]

I'm not interested in this one, but thanks for the frequent updates CappinCanuck. I often forget to check the site even though it can have gems.

[CappinCanuck]

I'm not interested in this one, but thanks for the frequent updates CappinCanuck. I often forget to check the site even though it can have gems.

Sure, I'll keep posting them daily then. I've only been posting the stuff I find interesting.

[CappinCanuck]

2010/02/24

Giveaway of the Day - SoftChronizer (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/softchronizer/)

February 24, 2010SoftChronizer is a very easy to use, fast and versatile double-file search program, that was designed to help you keeping your private or corporate book, music or picture collection in order, as well as for other use cases.

SoftChronizer can reliably search for any type of duplicate file in a single hard drive directory (with subdirectories), or simultaneously in different folders on different drives. The program either uses the ultra-precise “Byte-by-Byte” search, or a very fast “Fuzzy-Logic” search option to detect duplicate filenames. SoftChronizer displays MP3-ID3-Tags (displays the bit rate, i.e. a statement about the quality of the music, as well as the duration of a track in minutes and track’s album-name of a song), as well as for images, their size in pixels and their color-depth! – So if you see several duplicate files, you quickly can decide which picture, or which MP3 file you want to keep, or not.

Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Users are allowed to search for specific file types, or search the whole computer.
* Has the option to use binary comparisons in addition to comparison by file name and size.
* “Fuzzy logic” feature allow for a bit of elbow room when searching for duplicate files.
* Provides handy “extra” information on MP3 and image files, such as bitrate and resolution (respectively).
* Fairly fast scans.

The Bad
* Has bugs; can’t finish a full scan on my C:/ partition because of errors.
* Can only search one partition at a time.
* Criteria to compare files is limited to name, size, or “byte-by-byte” – lacks the ability to use other criteria such as data file created, date last modified, etc.
* Users can’t go back to the search results after the results are displayed if they (accidentally or on purpose) click on a different file type search option.
* The interface could do with a makeover.

[CappinCanuck]

2010/02/25

Giveaway of the Day - PCHand Screen Capture Recorder Suite (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/pchand-screen-suite/)

February 25, 2010PCHand Screen Capture Recorder Suite, which is your best partner for desktop screen capturing and recording, includes PCHand Screen Capture and PCHand Screen Recorder.

With this splendid suite, you can easily capture and record anything you see on the screen. PCHand Screen Capture helps to capture screen and optimize with built-in editor and save as images, while PCHand Screen Recorder is for recording screen and create demonstration video along with audio.

Review
For both programs – Successful download, installation, activation on Win 7 (32-bit) OS. Nice, simple, easy-to-navigate GUIs, very easy to operate. Also, they both have lots of nice customization & editing options and features (too many to list here.)- Two thumbs up for both programs. Thanks, GOTD & PCHand.

Important Note: Developer is offering GOTD users a major discount special today: Both programs (full versions) for only $19.95, versus $69.90.

Freeware Options
Gadwin PrintScreen – CNET User Rating 4/5

Debut Video Recording – CNET User Rating 3.5/5

[Hawkzombie]

Important Note: Developer is offering GOTD users a major discount special today: Both programs (full versions) for only $19.95, versus $69.90 at:

Freeware Options
Gadwin PrintScreen – CNET User Rating 4/5

Debut Video Recording – CNET User Rating 3.5/5

This confuses me. If it's free for today, why would they offer it for 20 bucks to the very people who are getting it for free? And why include the freeware options like that?

[CappinCanuck]

This confuses me. If it's free for today, why would they offer it for 20 bucks to the very people who are getting it for free? And why include the freeware options like that?



Because each GOTDs are given with the following limitations:

1. No free technical support
2. No free upgrades to future versions
3. Strictly personal usage
4. As-is, no support.

People who like it might want to purchase it and get updates, addons and such things. Not everything comes around again when there's an update.

As for freeware, it's people that are posting in comments that are providing freeware alternatives; and I'm just posting it here again for your benefit. Sometimes they are better than retail software, but rarely. It's up to you to go and see the rating and decide whether perhaps a freeware might be a better choice. I just copy over the review of it.

[CappinCanuck]

2010/02/26

Giveaway of the Day - Sothink SWF Decompiler 5.4 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sothink-swf-decompiler-5-4/)

Sothink SWF Decompiler is a professional Flash decompiler. It can easily decompile SWF to FLA and FLEX projects. Not only supports AS3, this Flash decompiler also supports Flash 6/MX 2004/8/CS3/CS4 and FLEX. It extracts almost all Flash elements including shape, morph shapes, images, sounds, videos, frames, fonts, texts, buttons, sprites and ActionScript.

SWF Decompiler is fully compatible with Windows 7; search for all ActionScript is enabled.

[CappinCanuck]

2010/02/27

Giveaway of the Day - Aimersoft Video to DVD Converter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aimersoft-video-to-dvd-converter/)

February 27, 2010Aimersoft Video to DVD Converter is an easy-to-use yet powerful application to convert and burn video to DVD. You can preserve all your cherished videos with DVDs, and never worry about their missing because of the problems of computer or other devices. Also, if you want to show your precious memories at the party or family reunions, it will be your best choice to be the leading role.
Features:

* Support all popular standard and HD video formats;
* Powerful editing function to trim videos;
* Support most disc types: DVD–5 and DVD–9; DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW;
* Support burning video to DVD disc and ISO image file;
* Compatible with any DVD burners, including Samsung, Asus, Sony, LG, etc.;
* 100% compatible with Windows 7.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Can create DVD-5 and DVD-9 DVDs.
* Supports many input video formats, including HD formats.
* Can trim videos prior to creating DVD.
* Can burn the DVD directly onto a DVD disc or can create an ISO.
* Has option to automatically shutdown computer after DVD has been created.

The Bad
* Way too simplistic; user has very limited control over settings concerning the DVD that will be created.

Overall: Big Thumbs up!

Free Alternatives
DVD Flick

[CappinCanuck]

2010/02/28

Giveaway of the Day - ExifCleaner (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/exifcleaner/)

February 28, 2010ExifCleaner is a program which allows you to remove individual Exif tags or to strip Exif data entirely. This protects your privacy, helps you to hide unneeded, undesirable or sometimes sensitive information – about the image, photographer and location. Did you know that every digital photo produced with a camera contains it?

ExifCleaner doesn’t alter actual image data – all operations are lossless for picture. Cleaning metainformation only saves disk space and server bandwidth, reduces download times, it’s expecially evident on small-sized or large number of images.

Exif cleaner can also be useful for photo professionals, to get rid of the XMP, IPTC (including the whole Photoshop IRB section) as well as Exif metatada in photomontage works.

Program can work in a batch mode and can also be integrated into the Windows Explorer shell for quick access to its major functions.

The Review:

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Can strip the EXIF of multiple images at once.
* Users are given the option to clean whole EXIF data, just specific tags, or to clean all EXIF data except specific tags.
* Users are given the option to replace original files, or create new renamed files.
* Supports drag + drop.
* Has a portable version.

The Bad
* The right-click context menu entry doesn’t register properly (at least in Windows 7).
* The ability to edit/batch edit the EXIF data of image files would be a really nice “plus” to the program.

Overall: Thumbs up!

Free Alternatives

IrfanView

[CappinCanuck]

2010/03/01

Giveaway of the Day - Odin Frame Photo Creator (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/odin-frame-photo-creator/)

March 1, 2010Frame Photo Creator is a professional digital photo tool that enables you not only to transfer photos on your home PC but also to edit, print and manipulate digital photos in order to improve photo quality.
Key Features

* colourful backgrounds or frames;
* has photo mode and camera mode;
* import and Edit photos on your PC;
* print out the photos;
* easy to operate;

The Review

The Good
* Users can create a collage with images, or output images individually.
* Users can add frames, “funny faces”, and effects to images.
* Users can add background images to the collage if desired.
* Comes with many frames, “funny faces”, and effects to pick from.
* Users can import their own frames.
* Has ability to take pictures directly from webcam (if applicable).
* Has an auto-timer for the webcam feature.
* Can print or export the projects as images.

The Bad
* Images are resized to fit frames instead of the frames being resized to fit images.
* When searching for images, Odin Frame Photo Creator is set to look for bitmap files only by default every time; user needs to manually change it to other image format if that image format is desired.
* The transparency of frames is not shown in the “preview” box.
* Has a few bugs.

Overall: Thumbs Down!

Free Alternatives

Ashampoo Photo Commander 6.5

[CappinCanuck]

March 2, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Memory Washer (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/memory-washer/)

Memory Washer is a smart memory and process manager tool that increases your amount of available memory by up to 95% thus preventing Windows crashes by freeing up unused memory, enabling your computer to run faster and more dependably.

In addition Memory Washer Processes Manager helps pinpoint those unstable programs that dramatically waste memory and abusively overuse your computer processor and give yourself the option of either terminating them or changing their priorities.

To ensure permanent system stability and free memory, Memory Washer offers an automatic memory-wash option, preconfigured for your needs; you can set Memory Washer to automatically wash your memory whenever it reaches a specific amount, or at specific given intervals.

[CappinCanuck]

March 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Magic Collage (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/magic-collage/)

Magic Collage is an automatic and easy to use photo collage creator software that lets you create impressive photo collage automatically in a few clicks!

Magic Collage creates photo collage by using a special photo processing engine that can place and arrange the photos from different graphic, shape and text that you specify automatically.
Feature:

* Create photo collage automatically from graphic and text.
* Real-time result preview.
* Intuitive user interface.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Users can create pictures collages of graphics or text.
* Users can use the handful of graphics that come with the program or draw/import their own.
* Various different settings of collages can be controlled by the user, such as individual picture size, amount of pictures used, picture shadow, collage background color, etc.
* Users can view a “live preview” of the collage as they create it.

The Bad
* Extremely memory inefficient.
* Can only output collages as JPG or PNG – lacks support for other popular image formats like GIF and BMP.
* Program window is not resizeable.

Free Alternatives
Shape Collage

Overall: One thumb up.

[Jackel]

Meh. All of these recent photo ones don't seem to be that great. Hopefully we see some gems come up.

[CappinCanuck]

Meh. All of these recent photo ones don't seem to be that great. Hopefully we see some gems come up.


Agreed. Even in the photo realm, another InPaint would be fantastic.

[CappinCanuck]

March 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - FILEminimizer Pictures (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/file-minimizer-pictures/)

FILEminimizer Pictures from balesio compresses digital photos and images and achieves file size reductions by up to 98%. For example, a JPEG photo with a size of 5 MB can be reduced to only 0.08 MB. The software features an innovative image optimization technology: the powerful compression of an image is achieved without any visible quality loss and during the whole compression process the respective native image file format is maintained, making a subsequent decompression irrelevant.

FILEminimizer Pictures can compress any image or photo while always maintaining quality and image format. The optimized and much smaller image files are ideal to be sent via E-Mail or to be uploaded to portals like FlickR, MySpace, HI5 or Facebook. The software can also compress whole digital photo albums at once and features a search assistant which can find all image files on a computer.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, Bitmap, TIFF, and EMF formats.
* Supports multiple different levels of compression plus gives the user to set a custom level.
* Supports batch processing and drag + drop.
* Works fairly quickly.

The Bad
* Overwrites existing files of the same name in the same output directory without warning.
* The ability to “replace original file” is only available in the server edition.

Free Alternatives
PunyPNG

Overall: Two Thumbs Up

[CappinCanuck]

March 5, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Ax3soft Sax2 4.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ax3soft-sax2-4-0/)

Ax3soft Sax2 is a professional intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS) used to detect intrusion and attacks, analyze and manage your network which excels at real-time packet capture, 24/7 network monitor, advanced protocol analysis and automatic expert detection.

With insight into all operations in your network, Sax2 makes it easy to isolate and solve your network security problems – detect network vulnerabilities, identify network security threats, catch actions against of security strategy and signs of been attacked. Finally, intercept and stop these connections.

Sax2 offers many kinds of intrusion analysis reports, such as events, type, source address and destination address of attacks, and many crossover reports and compositive reports. Furthermore, sax2 allows customize the time range which administrator will flexible monitor and evaluate the network security.

Sax2 supports almost all common used protocols, self-contained and high speed update event database. It will compose an active detection as the core of dynamic Security Defense System with other network security software, such as Firewall and anti-virus.

[Jackel]

Anyone heard anything about this? I'd be interested in it but I wasn't able to find any decent reviews.

[CappinCanuck]

March 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - NoWires (Adobe Photoshop plugin)
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/nowires/)
Get rid of the nasty wires crossing your photos just in several clicks! NoWires automatically removes telephone, electric, and other wires from your digital images.

NoWires integrates with Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements and can be used though Filters menu.
Removing wires is very simple: just select start and end points of the wire and press OK button. All other work will be done automatically by NoWires.

Overall: Two Thumbs down. Clone tool will work better overall since the plugin cannot work well with items in the background beside sky.

[CappinCanuck]

Anyone heard anything about this? I'd be interested in it but I wasn't able to find any decent reviews.

Too little too late, sorry Jackel. It seems to do a very good job for what it is. Home to small business focused. It's definitely much more than any average home user would need. It's better than some free alternatives because it can do everything in one since it is intended for small-med enterprises. It's $300+ regularly, but you get it for free for ONE YEAR. It's $99/year after. So I didn't bite. I'm fine with my AV and the router's built in firewall.

[CappinCanuck]

March 7, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Family Media Center
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/family-media-center/)
Family Media Center is designed as family entertainment center. It is used to manage karaoke play lists and DVD/VCD movie contents.

User interface is professionally done with ability to change the skin for your own taste. It is very easy to use and stable. It supports all major format including CDG, VOB, DAT, MPG, AVI, MP4, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, H264, FLV, 3GP. Song selection based on intelligent spelling matches or artists are the most convenient ways. You can save your favorites songs in a play list.

This software supports input devices including computer mice, keyboards, remote controls and touch screen.

Overall: Two thumbs down! Clunky, unpolished, outdated. There are free alternatives that are just as good, and paid alternatives that are much better.

[Hawkzombie]

That was my initial reaction to it as well.

[CappinCanuck]

March 8, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - WinX DVD Ripper Platinum 5.9.2 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/winx-dvd-ripper-platinum-5-9-2/)

WinX DVD Ripper Platinum is proved to be the fastest DVD ripper software to convert DVD movies to popular video and audio formats, including AVI, WMV, FLV, MPEG, MP4, 3GP, MP3 and much more. Besides, it also enables you to transfer the DVD movies to portable devices such as iPhone, iPod, Apple-TV, PSP, Zune, Mobile phone and so on. WinX DVD Ripper Platinum has the ability of making perfect 1:1 DVD copy to hard drive without any quality loss.

Overall: Two thumbs up! Great suite for the right price. Not as fast as DVDShrink, but more options and still updated. Nothing better at the free price point, although if you are willing to shell out for AnyDVD, it might be marginally better.

This will decrypt unlike the free version they offer on their website. This is the full product.

[Jackel]

I already have AnyDVD but otherwise I would have to recommend WinX. I used it for quite a while before getting AnyDVD HD

[CappinCanuck]

March 9, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - abylon BASIC (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/abylon-basic/)

Easy CRYPT- and ZIP-Collection helps to sign, encrypt, compress and copy!

The security of sensitive data is often neglected. Only an encryption provide a full protection of the files on your computer or sending by email. abylon BASIC is a collection to encrypt, sign, compress, search, copy or move your files and folders.

All modules integrates itself completely into the context menu of the File Explorer. With the Easy Encryption technology (EEnTe) only a few steps are necessary to protect your files. Thereby the secret based SYMM-System and the X.509-certificate-based HYBRID-System are supported.

Overall: One thumb up. This is good if you want only encryption provided with your archiver. Rather than get a mediocre archiver and a mediocre encryption software, you might as well just get 7zip and learn to use Truecrypt. For those that want simplicity, this is a good choice because it will do both.

[Jackel]

Agreed. Truecrypt is probably a better option for anyone that actually needs encryption.

[CappinCanuck]

March 10, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Paragon Virtualization Manager 9.5 Personal (English) (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/paragon-virtualization-manager-2010-personal-english/)

Easily migrate a Windows-based computer to a virtual environment (P2V) and vice versa (V2P).

Work with virtual disks from one easy-to-use interface of Virtualization Manager, without starting a virtual machine: migrate from one virtual environment to another (V2V), exchange data between your physical environment and the virtual one, perform any partitioning operations and more.

Recover the OS startup ability after a system migration to a different hardware or unsuccessful virtualization by a 3rd party tool.
Virtualization Manager 9.5 Personal allows you to:

* Migrate a Windows-based computer to a virtual environment (P2V)
* Migrate from a virtual environment to physical (V2P)
* Virtualize system from its backup image (P2V)
* Migrate from one virtual environment to another (V2V)
* Recover the OS startup ability after system migration to a different hardware or unsuccessful virtualization by a 3rd party tool (P2P and P2V Adjust)
* Clone a partition or an entire hard disk
* Exchange data between your physical environment and the virtual one, or between a virtual disk and its snapshots
* Accomplish virtual drive partitioning (create, format, delete, move, resize etc.)

Limitations: No WinPE RCD is included in this download.

Overall: Can't give a rating since I have no experience with virtual environments. Be aware this is not a system backup utility as per Paragon's usual offerings.

[CappinCanuck]

March 11, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - WinUtilities 9.4 Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/winutilities-9-4-pro/)

WinUtilities is an award winning collection of tools to optimize and speedup your system performance. This suite contains utilities to clean registry, temporary files on your disks, erase your application and internet browser history, cache and cookies.

You can control startup programs that load automatically with Windows, find duplicate files, fix broken shortcuts and uninstall unneeded software. Other features include secure file deletion, recycle bin shredding, cleaning tasks scheduling and undelete deleted files.

Overall: One thumb up. Very good in that it has all the optimization utilities in one good package. Each piece is not as strong as the standalone freeware titles though. Unless you want to cut down on the # of programs, I'd rather people check out My Defrag, CCleaner, Glary's Tools. If you're just above an average PC user, you know how to make sure these won't autorun and thus negating the problems with having multiple programs over one single suite.

[CappinCanuck]

March 12, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Plato Safe Password Manager (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/plato-safe-password-manager/)

Today you need to remember many passwords. You need a password for the Windows network logon, e-mail account, homepage’s FTP password, website member account, etc. How can you remember all those passwords?

Plato Safe Password Manager is an easy-to-use password manager for Windows to store your passwords in a highly encrypted database, and the database consists of only one file, it can be easily transferred from one computer to another.

Free Alternatives
RoboForm
LastPass

Overall: Thumbs down. No browser integration. Lastpass does more for free.

[Jackel]

Meh. I'm a fan of Keepass personally.

[CappinCanuck]

March 13, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - HDData (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/hddata/)

HDData measures all kind of Hard Drive parameters. If one of these parameters is exceeding a threshold or sensing an SMART error, HDData will warn you, HDData will Act for you. You can control what actions HDData will execute for you when the Hard Drive Temperature reaches a Warning and/or a SMART Alarm setting.

You will have time to save your work before the Hard Drive gets overheated and gets irretrievable broken down. You can act before losing everything!

[CappinCanuck]

March 14, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - SnowFox DVD Ripper
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/snowfox-dvd-ripper/)
SnowFox DVD Ripper is an excellent DVD converter to rip DVD to video.

[CappinCanuck]

March 15, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Foxonic Professional 4.0
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/foxonic-professional-4-0/)
Foxonic is a powerful PDF tool, that includes the following PDF tools in one product: Image to PDF Converter, TIFF to PDF Converter, PDF Protector, PDF Slide Show/Presentation Maker, PDF Optimizer, PDF Stamper, PDF Merger, PDF Splitter, PDF Page Extractor, PDF Page remover, PDF Permission Modifier, PDF Password Modifier and more.

Overall: Two thumbs way up! Since it seems that the wrong steps are in the Readme, here's the correct order:

* How to activate Foxonic Professional 4.0
Installation Guide
1. Unzip the package you’ve downloaded from GOTD;
2. Run the activation program Activate.exe in the package FIRST;
3. THEN run Setup.exe in the package to install the software.

P.S.: Vista and Windows 7 users can follow the above steps to register the program as well,
but it is recommended to run the program under administrator account.

[Jackel]

I'll probably download this one. I won't use it for day to day PDF use (as I'm in love with Sumatra PDF for its low memory use) but if I ever need to create PDF's I'll keep this one around.

[CappinCanuck]

March 16, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - abylon LOGON
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/abylon-logon/)
Secure and comfortable windows logon with smart card, memory stick or CD!

The software abylon LOGON offers a comfortable way to protect your computer against illegal access. You only need to train your smart card, your removable media (e. g. memory stick), or a CD/DVD with your windows login data and in the future this medium is your authentication for the computer.

The input of a password is possible as extended protection. By leaving your computer you need only to pull the smart card or the removable media and your computer locked or logged out automatically. Thus protect your computer against snoopier views and data theft without large training. For professional users various certificate smart cards are supported. During the registration to the computer only the smart card or the USB-Token (e.g. Aladdin eToken) must be insert.

Overall: A pretty neat and painless way to secure your PC. Just remember that Flash drives and CD/DVD media can fail... if you're going to use it, I recommend you back up your key twice.

[CappinCanuck]

March 17, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Paragon Backup and Recovery Compact Edition (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/paragon-backup-recovery-compact-edition/)

Paragon Backup and Recovery Compact Edition offers more safety to all your important data including videos, images, music files, documents and applications. Find other extra features onboard this toolkit along with a Windows 7 and 64-bit Operating Systems support.
Paragon Backup and Recovery Compact Edition Features:

* Complete set of features for entire disk imaging and file Backup.
* Backup to any destination: including local mounted/un-mounted partitions, external storage locations, CD/DVD/Blu-ray discs, network shares, FTP as well as a sechttp://www.giveawayoftheday.com/paragon-backup-recovery-compact-edition/ured hidden partition on your local drive (Paragon Backup Capsule).
* Smart Backup options for headache-free security: So you can backup exactly what you need and with the best backup method, chosen automatically depending on the data to protect.
* Professional Recovery tools.
* Useful extras: boot corrector, simple partitioning and more.
* Create bootable USB Flash drive, CD or DVD to recover your PC on demand.
* Partitioning tools.

Overall: Two thumbs up. All of Paragon's backup suite is pretty top notch. I don't see anything specific to the compact version that's any different from previous offerings. Watch the separate download link for x64.

[CappinCanuck]

March 18, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Wondershare PC Health Check (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/wondershare-pc-health-check/)

Wondershare PC Health Check is a handy system speed up utility. It helps you easily diagnose and repair Windows defects, increase system stability and security, and keep your computer running fast!

It performs like a system doctor and keeps your computer running in a healthy, stable and fast state by fixing system and third-party software vulnerabilities, disabling malicious processes and system services, correcting improper system settings and removing mal-add-ons.

With simple 3 clicks, Wondershare PC Health Check can perform comprehensive system security check, present diagnostics report with detailed potential risks, and take action to insure your system security and stability!
Features:

* Deeply scan to check Windows system health
* Generate detailed diagnostics report of potential risks
* Repair Windows with fast-downloaded patches from official websites
* Restore is available in case of problems

Overall: Two thumbs up. This isn't a cleaning utility but a security inspector. It’s main purpose is to download and install missing updates, and help remove unwanted programs. It also does a pretty good job of it. For free alternatives, try Secunia Inspector. Although this one is a better product at the free price point.

[CappinCanuck]

March 19, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - YouTube Music Downloader 3.2 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/youtube-music-downloader-3-2/)

Download YouTube Music videos and convert them to MP3, AVI, WMV, MOV, MP4, 3GP formats.

Download Millions of music from YouTube, Try YouTube Music Downloader Now! New version added YouTube HD/HQ video downloading features.

Overall: Two thumbs way up. A lot of extra features, especially conversion, over firefox extensions. Very easy to use and an all-in-one stop for all your youtube download needs.

Don't fret over the poor ratings on the site, people are just aggro over the fact that this thing is regularly overpriced at $50. Well, it's free today so who cares?

[CappinCanuck]

March 20, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Easy Macro Recorder 3.81 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easy-macro-recorder-3-81/)

Easy Macro Recorder is a handy utility that makes your computers automatically do tasks for you. It records all operation of mouse and keystrokes and saves them as macros, then Easy Macro Recorder can play back the recorded macros to automate your work any number of times. It works on any Windows applications.

Easy Macro Recorder is very easy to use, just three steps: record, save and playback. It doesn’t require any programming experience.
Key features:

* Record all events of mouse and keystrokes of any Windows applications
* Repeat playing back macros for any number of times
* Allow you to do things that are tedious or time-consuming without actually doing them yourself
* Play back macros at schedule time
* Easy to use macro editor with several commands
* Easy to use and don’t need any programming knowledge

The Review

The Good
* Very easy to use.
* Has a macro editor if you want to create macros manually or edit them.
* Records mouse and keyboard strokes.
* You can choose what speed you want the macros to playback in.
* You can loop macros if need be.

The Bad
* You can’t assign hotkeys to run each individual macro.
* Mouse movements/strokes are based off coordinates instead of program recognition.
* Default location to save macros to can’t be changed.
* Can’t record movements/strokes by the mouse scroll wheel.

Free Alternatives
Do It Again

[CappinCanuck]

March 21, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Clone2Go Video Converter Professional (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/clone2go-video-converter-professional/)

Clone2Go Video Converter Professional is an excellent tool for meeting video conversion needs. With this video converter software, you can convert video files in all popular formats to specific video/audio format for playback on iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, BlackBerry and other mobile players.

Clone2Go Video Converter supports video formats including MOV, WMV, AVI, MKV, FLV, MPG, RM, RMVB, ASF, VOB, DV, 3GP and audio formats such as MP2, MP3, WAV, M4A, WMA, OGG. It also allows you to customize the profile for the output video/audio file. Besides, this video converter program serves as a powerful YouTube downloader. You can download videos from YouTube or Google to your computer and even for your mobile device.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Supports many input and output formats.
* Supports audio and video conversions.
* Supports batch processing.
* Users can trim input files before converting.
* User has control over the settings of the output file.
* Comes with a YouTube/Google video downloader and the ability to import videos from camcorders.

The Bad
* A bit buggy – won’t properly import audio files.
* There is no “keep default resolution” option.
* Doesn’t support SWF input.

Free Alternatives
iWisoft Video Converter
FormatFactory
HandBrake

[Hawkzombie]

I'd also like to add Handbrake to the list of free alternatives. It only outputs to MP4 and MKV, but it's probably one of the nicest and easiest converters I've used. It also rips directly from DVD.

[CappinCanuck]

I'd also like to add Handbrake to the list of free alternatives. It only outputs to MP4 and MKV, but it's probably one of the nicest and easiest converters I've used. It also rips directly from DVD.

You got it :).

[CappinCanuck]

March 22, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Wise Disk Cleaner 5.2 Professional (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/wise-disk-cleaner-5-pro/)

Wise Disk Cleaner is a user friendly, fast and easy to use application developed to free up disk space by deleting junk files that are no longer used by any software on your system. Even the least experienced user can easily remove junk files with this tool.

Since v5, Wise Disk Cleaner is not only disk cleaner, it’s a disk scrubber, disk optimization tool and files recover tool also.
Features:

* Export entries to MS Excel.
* New delete option – “Move to location”.
* Advanced Options: you can search files more accurately, for example, you can search old files and remove them.
* Comminuted delete files.
* Disk Scrubber that will help you permanently to wipe deleted files for keep your private.
* Deleted files Recovery tool: effectively recover deleted files. Easy to use and fast. (Current only support NTFS drives and require Windows 2000 or above.)

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Users have the ability to choose what types of files you want to find via “Disk Cleaner”.
o Users can choose to delete, perma delete, or compress and move files found via “Disk Cleaner”.
o Users are allowed to scan whole partitions or select folders for junk files.
o Users can specify “Disk Cleaner” to search for junk files with special attributes.
* Has the ability to recover deleted files via “Disk Recover”.
* Users can permanently delete deleted files with “Disk Scrub”.
* Users can defrag their hard drives with “Disk Defrag”.

The Bad
* “Disk Defrag” does the scanning, analyzing, and defragging all in one step – does not allow the users to decide if defragmentation is needed after the scanning and analyzing.
* “Disk Defrag” can only do one partition at a time.
* Program does not specify what algorithm is being used to securely delete files/scrub hard drive.
* “Disk Recover” has option to only show deleted files but shows all existing folders, regardless of if a deleted files was found in them or not.

Free Alternatives
WinUtilities Professional Edition
jv16 PowerTools 2009
Glary Utilities

Overall: A lot of good utilities in one package. There's a wealth of freeware options though that are just as good, and because they're freeware you'll be eligible for updates unlike this product. If you don't have a good combo of utilities already, it'd be worth a try. I personally use CCleaner + MyDefrag but Glary Utilities is a favourite as well.

[CappinCanuck]

March 23, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Sothink Logo Maker 1.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sothink-logo-maker-1-0/)

It is an intuitive and extremely simple logo creator for you to design logo in minutes. You don’t have to be a professional logo designer to make high-quality company logo, business logo, web signature, button, icon, etc.

It offers rich built-in templates, preset color & effect styles, and well designed logo images, which will fully satisfy your needs and make your logo unique. The great editing capability also ensures a smooth and pleasant logo design process.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and very easy to use.
* Comes with many pre-designed templates users can select and customize to fit their needs.
* Has many built in clipart/images users can easily drag + drop and incorporate into their logos.
* Comes with many pre-defined colors and effects users can apply to text or clipart.
* Allows users to import images (PNG, JPG, BMP, GIF) and SWF resources which can then be used in logos.

The Bad
* Lacks basic tools such as paint brush, pen, pencil, etc. – no way to draw or create your own art from within the program.
* Skimps out on the number of effects, lacking some basic ones like blur, sharp, invert, etc.
* Doesn’t support the ability to export as GIF image format.

Free Alternatives
GreenBox LogoMaker 2

[CappinCanuck]

March 25, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - MagicScore School 6 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/magicscore-school-6/)

MagicScore School is wonderful music notation and music writing software, offering the most advanced capabilities for music schools, students, teachers and music lovers. With MagicScore School you can create magnificent compositions; that will give you the opportunity to have your work done in the best possible manner.

Functionality of the “School” versions:

* Automatically corrects input.
* Allows highly versatile editing (copies, inserts, deletes, and transposes both individual notes and selected blocks of notes).
* Provides note entry through a virtual piano.
* Includes a descriptive chord builder.
* Anchors comments, references and other design elements to all units of the score.
* Sets alignment, offset and break size of staves and measures.
* Regulates volume, balance and effects for each individual track and instrument.
* Reads and writes MIDI files and records in MIDI format.
* Plays back instruments separately or as the entire ensemble.
* Prints scores with print previews.
* Supports Drag & Drop.
* Allows Undo and Redo.
* Records scores through MIDI devices.
* Can print blank staves for notation.
* Prints notes of the MIDI format files.

New in MagicScore School 6.0:

* Spanish and Polish interface.
* 1/128 duration.
* Auto-calculation of measures’ duration to its notes, when the Time Signature of a composition is not set.
* Formation of notes was changed. Now MagicScore School 6 provides a new level of music score quality.
* The Liga addition was changed by splitting to Slur or Tie.
* Now you can change left and right margins for every page automatically. This option is very useful for music book and brochure creation.
* Time Signature placement in the middle and the end of a measure.
* Empty staves auto-hide option for the MIDI file import function.
* A tremolo width and rotation changing option.
* Notes beam movement.
* Systems interval changed.
* Triplet styles were added.
* Beam number of notes management.
* Tools panels’ rotation to the vertical position.
* Split point on recording for two hands.
* Using the Key Signature of the composition in Grace notes.
* Offset properties for Key Signature, Clef, etc.

[CappinCanuck]

March 26, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - SIW – System Information for Windows
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/siw/)
SIW is a System Information tool that gathers detailed information about your system properties and settings. A utility that includes detailed specs for Motherboard, BIOS, CPU, Devices, Memory, Video, Drives, Ports, Printers.

It displays information about Operating System, Installed Programs, Processes, Services, Product Key (CD key), Serial Numbers, Users, Open Files, System uptime, Users, Network, Network Shares, and more, as well as real-time monitors for CPU, Memory, Page File usage and network traffic. SIW also displays currently active network connections, Passwords hidden behind asterisks, installed codecs, etc.



SIW divides system information into few major categories:

* Software Inventory:
Operating System, Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Secrets (Password Recovery).
* Hardware Inventory:
Motherboard, Sensors, BIOS, CPU, chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Printers.
* Network Information:
Network Cards, Network Shares, currently active Network Connections, Open Ports.
* Network Tools:
MAC Address Changer, Neighborhood Scan, Ping, Trace, Statistics
* Miscellaneous Tools:
Eureka! (Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks), Monitor Test, Shutdown/Restart.
* Real-time monitors:
CPU, Memory, Page File usage and Network Traffic.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Displays detailed information about user’s computer from hardware to installed software and everything in between.
* Allows user to output “reports” in multiple different formats (HTML, CSV, TXT, XML).
* Comes with a handful of useful “extra” tools such as a password revealer, MAC address changer, etc.
* Has a portable version.

The Bad
* I will let everyone know if I think of one.

Free Alternatives
EVEREST Ultimate Edition 4.6
Speccy
WinAudit
SIW itself also has a freeware version

[CappinCanuck]

March 27, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - SysResourcesManager 10.6 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sysresourcesmanager-10-6/)

SysResources Manager is a system utility for watching the current state of the system such as CPU usage, RAM and Virtual RAM availability, Disks, Processes, Network Monitoring (Processes accessing Internet, Network Traffic/Speed), Services, StartUp Programs. SysResources Manager can optimize system performance by defraging physical system memory.
Features:

* Watch CPU Usage (Support 4 CPU cores).
* Watch RAM and Virtual Memory Availability. Defrag Physical Memory.
* Show information for all system disks and drives.
* Task Manager (Show detailed information about Modules and Registry Keys used by each Process).
* Watch Netwotk Bandwidth Traffic (Support all Network types e.g Internet(ADSL)/Ethernet/Wireless Speed and Traffic).
* Manage Network Connections (TCP Protocol).
* Manage Windows Services (Start, Stop, Pause, Restart, Remove, Change StartMode).
* StartUp Manager (Manage Programs that are automatically executed when windows start). See Internet Explorer Add-Ons and System Drivers.
* Program Launcher. Easily run your Favorites Programs and open your Files from System Tray.
* Show and explore Special Folders of Windows.
* Access hidden commands of Window.
* Run installed Screensavers, enable/disable Screensaver.
* Change Screen resolution.
* Empty Recycle Bin, Clean Recent Documents and Internet Explorer typed URL’s.
* Access Control Panel items.
* Lock PC.

The Review

The Good
* Has a nice feature set (you can see network traffic, cpu usage, what processes are running, etc)
* Combines many Windows tools together into one program.
* Not too bad on resources.
* Can defrag RAM.
* Ability to export data into a TXT file.
* Program displays how long it has been since your last shutdown/restart.

The Bad
* Cannot monitor/show computer temperatures.
* The ‘widget’ (“monitor”) is limited to only CPU/RAM.
* RAM defrag is kind of iffy (does not really free up much, if any, RAM).

Free Alternatives
AnVir Task Manager

Overall: I prefer AnVir. It has helped me not only clean up my start up, and regularly running programs, but also track down programs sucking up CPU usage without being shown in the Task Manager. The full suite is regularly offered as a Giveaway. I would suggest waiting for it.

[CappinCanuck]

March 28, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Registry Defragmentation 9.2 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/registry-defragmentation-9-2/)

Registry Defragmentation is a small utility that does gigantic improvements in computer performance. This application physically defragments the Windows registry file to give it the proper linear structure. This is an absolutely essential tool for all folks who install/uninstall new software applications frequently.

“Registry Defragmentation” performs physical defragmentation of the Windows registry file. After defragmentation your registry will acquire linear structure which will reduce application response time and registry access time. “Registry Defragmentation” also removes unused entries, thus making registry even smaller in size. Do not worry if sometimes after defragmentation the registry will become smaller only by 1-5%, the key is not in size but in its linear structure, hence it determines access time.

[J Arcane]

Yeah . . . that one doesn't set off the red flags, not at all . . . :/

[CappinCanuck]

March 29, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - iCare Data Recovery 3.6 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/icare-data-recovery-3-6/)

iCare Data Recovery Software is a unformat, undelete and comprehensive recovery tool to help users recover files from formatted drive like hard disk drive, external hard drive, sd card, memory card, flash drive. Besides unformat, it can bring files back when partition is unreadable, inaccessible, partition deleted, mbr damged, boot sector damaged, virus attacked.
It provides four recovery wizard:

* “Partition Recovery” to recover deleted partitions;
* “Deleted File Recovery” to recover accidentally deleted files, files in inaccessible partitions, RAW file system file recovery, boot sector damaged, mbr corrupted;
* “Deep Scan Recovery” to have a full scan of lost and existing files and find files as much as possible;
* “Format Recovery” to recover files from formatted hard disk, external disk, flash drive, sd card etc.

Overall: Great product. Only bad thing about it is the price tag which you don't have to pay :cool:.

[CappinCanuck]

March 30, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Scanitto Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/scanitto-pro/)

Scanitto Pro is a well-rounded scanning suite that anyone can afford. Easy to use, lightweight and having just about every feature you need for day-to-day scanning, it will be a choice you will never regret making!

If you have a scanner that you use for a limited range of purposes (copying, simple text and image scanning) and are looking for a tool that would be drop-dead easy to use, inexpensive and would do the job well every day, you definitely should check out Scanitto Pro.

As its somewhat Italian name suggests, this scanning software is lightweight, fast and not overloaded with tons of unnecessary features. Scanitto Pro takes much after its predecessor, Scanitto, and takes it functionality further by adding lots of handy capabilities that will make your daily work even more hassle-free and efficient. If you have a printer, Scanitto Pro will help you make a copy in a single click – just wait for it to scan the original and hand it over to the printing device.

The Review

The Good
* Allows users to save scanned items as BMP, JPG, TIFF, JP2, or PNG images.
* Users can control the “mode” (color, black & white, gray), resolution, and size of output images.
* Users can output scanned documents as a PDF.
* Users can manually select portions of documents to scan instead of whole document.
* Users can send scanned documents directly to the printer.

The Bad
* Does not have any features/value that would make this a program worthwhile over program that comes with scanners (most – if not all – scanners come with software).
* No proper documentation.

[CappinCanuck]

March 31, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - SocuSoft Web Video Player
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/socusoft-web-video-player/)
SocuSoft Web Video Player is an excellent powerful program for web video processing and web design. This program allows you to publish your video clips of various formats on your website, blog, forum and more, making it play videos directly online. It just needs simple steps to complete a web video.

Any web video generated by this program has an embedded player, which can be fully customized. Besides, it has a conversion component which accepts various video formats.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and very easy to use.
* Allows users to select from many different video “frames”.
* Organizes published videos in a fairly clean manner making it easy to transfer onto a website/server when needed.
* Has a built-in video converter that can convert non-FLV videos to FLV videos which are then usable with the web video generator.

The Bad
* Needs the ability to be able to publish directly to a website, such as via FTP.
* Integration of the built-in video converter and the web video generator can be improved.

[CappinCanuck]

April 1, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - iSurfer Shield (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/isurfer-shield/)

Whether you’re working at home, at your office, or at your favorite coffeeshop, identity theft, hacking, and spamming threats are never far away….Don’t waste your time “putting out fires” and fixing problems caused by malicious websites or hackers while you can stop them easily before they can even get to you!

iSurfer Shield allows you to surf the Internet in total ’stealth’ mode, preventing malicious websites from recording your real IP address and possibly using it in malicious activity against you. As simple as a mouse click, you can thwart hackers and phishers by masking your real PC IP address with a set of anonymous IP addresses from more than ten countries worldwide, all available at your disposal

In addition iSurfer Shield disposable emails feature helps protect your inbox from tons of SPAM messages and saves you the money you will invest in Anti Spam tools by preventing spam messages from reaching your inbox in the first place!

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Gives users the ability to use “premium” (Giant Matrix run) proxies or “public” proxies.
* Has a handy disposable e-mail generator built-in.
* Support all majors browsers.

The Bad
* Proxies are extremely slow (at least the US premium one is).
* Only three premium proxies available – in US, Canada, and Germany. Should have at least one, if not more, premium proxies for other continents also.
* Does not keep the selection of a proxy as default; you must manually select proxies every time you run the software.
* Has a few bugs.

Free Alternatives
Tor

[CappinCanuck]

April 2, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Wondershare Photo Collage Studio 4.2.12 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/wondershare-photo-collage-studio-4-2-12/)

Wondershare Photo Collage Studio 4.2.12 is an easy and funny tool to make amazing photo collages and digital scrapbooks for print. With loads of ready-to-use scrapbooking templates, stickers and photo frames, you can easily assemble your photos into an artistic compilation to remember special events and preserve photo memories. What’s more, you can create photo books, greeting cards, calendars, CD covers, etc. Try to make this Easter more fun and impressive with it now!
Key features:

* Easily make collage and scrapbook using templates & decorations.
* Plenty of scrapbook templates and layouts for Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, …
* Multiple-page designs in one project
* Word art, stickers, photo frames, stamps, masks for unique prints
* Photo retouching and one-click filters such as old picture, B&W, etc.
* Magic doodle drawing for fun
* DIY personalized calendar & greeting cards
* Print directly to share anywhere
* Save as JPG, JEPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF formats

Important:
To activate the software, you are requested to register on the manufacturer’s page (full version, free of charge). Then you can get a registration code, with which you can activate the software.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and fairly easy to use.
* Comes with many predesigned templates and layouts.
* Has templates for collages, calenders, greeting cards, and letters.
* Has a built in image editor where you can add frames, filters and other effects.
* You can customize collage by adding text and clipart/stamps.
* Has a built in “paint like” feature where you can create your own drawings.
* Can create multi-page collages.

The Bad
* Interface is very slow at times.
* Program window always started fully maximized – doesn’t give user the option to start it in un-maximized position.
* Program window is not resizable except for maximized or not maximized.
* A feature to toggle between “blank” pages and templates or templates and different templates without having to start the page all over would be handy.

Free Alternatives
Google Picasa

[Hawkzombie]

I looked at the features of Google Picasa, and didn't see Collage as one of the options...Did I just miss it somehow?

EDIT: Nevermind, it was hidden away in another bullet of the features.

[CappinCanuck]

I looked at the features of Google Picasa, and didn't see Collage as one of the options...Did I just miss it somehow?

EDIT: Nevermind, it was hidden away in another bullet of the features.

Freeware isn't always better. It's there in case the software sucks :) Wondershare however is good. I'd recommend you try it since it is free.

[Hawkzombie]

Eh, I'd probably make one collage from it and be done with it. :p

[CappinCanuck]

April 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - TweakRAM 7.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/tweakram-7-0/)

TweakRAM is designed to clean your PC memory. It can Optimize RAM to make your computer run faster and crash less often. Also it increases your system performance by cleaning the content of your RAM and lets you know the CPU information, memory usage, processes, and applications running on your computer.

TweakRAM defragments your computer’s memory, increasing the efficiency of your CPU and Motherboard caches, recovers memory leaks from poorly behaved applications, flushes unused libraries temporarily out to disk and so on. By all this optimization tricks your favorite applications and games will run faster and efficiently even on old computers.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Has two modes of tweaking RAM.
* You can automate the RAM tweak.
* Has the ability to not run automatic RAM tweaker if CPU usage is above X%.
* Has some nice extra “tools”, such as being able to run TweakRAM automatically before a user-specified program runs.

The Bad
* Uses up quite a bit of computer resources during the actual RAM tweaking process.
* Developer displays semi-scareware Premium Booster advertisement during installation of TweakRAM.

Free Alternatives

CleanMem

[CappinCanuck]

April 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Planet Earth 3D Screensaver (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/planet-earth-3dscreensaver/)

Space tourism is only available to very rich people. Among its primary attractions is the awesome and thrilling feeling of looking at the Earth from space described by all astronauts as extremely intense and mind-boggling. This screensaver provides a unique opportunity to do that without having to pay 20 million dollars. You will actually get to see more than a ‘regular’ space tourist. It is a fantastically realistic 3D model of the planet!
Features:

* Full 3D environment
* Photo-realistic colorful graphics
* Relaxing space music
* Digital clock
* FPS counter
* Hear the call of the universe!
* Great variety of fascinating space scenes!

[CappinCanuck]

April 5, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Tidy Start Menu 3.4 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/tidy-start-menu-3-4/)

Are you tired of searching for programs in a long “Start Menu” list? If so, this program is for you. It allows you to arrange all the shortcuts in the Start Menu.

Your Start Menu looks neat, and you can easily and quickly find any program you want. For example, you can create a special “Games” category, and when opening the Start Menu you will see a “Games” section (instead of a list of the games) in which you will find the game you need.

The Review

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Allows users to work in two modes – “Simple” and “Explorer”.
* Provides users with a handful of categories to use to reorganize the start menu, and gives users the ability to create their own.
* Comes with a handful of supplementary features: adding icons to start menu folders, adding uninstall quick-links to right-click context menus, and searching for and removing broken shortcuts.
* Can backup/restore the start menu and import/export the start menu as XML files.
* Gives users the ability to organize the start menu of all Windows’ users’ accounts.

The Bad
* There is no way to “undo” the deletion of a category.
* All the entries placed in a category are deleted upon the deletion of a category – no way to automatically remove the entries after deletion so they can be placed in another category.
* No option in “Explorer Mode” to move start menu entries instead of copying them.

Free Alternatives

Tidy Start Menu [Freeware Version]

Overall

It slightly automates something you can already do by yourself. If you have the need get it while it's the right price. Free.

[CappinCanuck]

April 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - LeKuSoft DVD Ripper (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/lekusoft-dvd-ripper/)

LeKuSoft DVD Ripper is the best solution for you to rip Blu ray movies and DVD to all Video and Audio formats with high definition and conversion rate.

It’s capable of ripping blu ray disks and common DVD to FLV, MKV, AVI, SWF, MOV, iPod, iPhone, PSP, MP4, RM, WMV, ASF, 3GP, 3GPP2, etc., and extracting AAC, AC3, MP3, WAV, WMA, RA, M4A, OGG, etc. With LeKuSoft DVD Ripper, you can play Blu-ray videos and DVD on your multimedia devices in true HD quality, turn your iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, Apple TV or any other multimedia device into a Blu-ray movie theatre. Setting video and audio parameters, creates your own output profiles for future use, save time and effort by converting quickly, effectively and efficiently.

[AliasRomanian]

April 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - LeKuSoft DVD Ripper (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/lekusoft-dvd-ripper/)

LeKuSoft DVD Ripper is the best solution for you to rip Blu ray movies and DVD to all Video and Audio formats with high definition and conversion rate.

It’s capable of ripping blu ray disks and common DVD to FLV, MKV, AVI, SWF, MOV, iPod, iPhone, PSP, MP4, RM, WMV, ASF, 3GP, 3GPP2, etc., and extracting AAC, AC3, MP3, WAV, WMA, RA, M4A, OGG, etc. With LeKuSoft DVD Ripper, you can play Blu-ray videos and DVD on your multimedia devices in true HD quality, turn your iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, Apple TV or any other multimedia device into a Blu-ray movie theatre. Setting video and audio parameters, creates your own output profiles for future use, save time and effort by converting quickly, effectively and efficiently.

Thanks for this!

[CappinCanuck]

April 7, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Partition Manager 9.5 Personal (English) (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/partition-manager-9-5-personal-english/)

Get the original! Paragon Software’s advanced partitioning tools help you completely control and manage your hard disks.

With growing hard drive capacity, the need to reasonably split up the space is more important than ever. This easy-to-use partitioning tool is ideal for re-structuring your hard disk for optimal and effective data storage.
Complete functionality:

* Full set of partitioning operations
* Latest software & hardware support
* Copy, defragmentation & boot management
* Two-level user interface: Easy & Advanced
* Recovery media on a CD/DVD/USB-Stick

Safety of critical operations:

* The only solution with backup functionality to provide data loss free operation
* Powerful Recovery Media against a hardware malfunction or OS failure; 15 years of expertise
* Paragon Hot Resize TM technology to enlarge partitions without rebooting Windows
* Paragon Smart Partition TM technology to securely perform partitioning operations
* Paragon Power Shield TM technology to provide data consistency

[CappinCanuck]

April 8, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - PPTminimizer 4.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ppt-minimizer-4-0/)

PPTminimizer compresses presentations and documents by up to 98% without changing the original file format. Therefore, a special program to decompress or “unzip” files is not needed anymore. This program is compatible with Vista and can be fully integrated into Outlook, PowerPoint and Windows Explorer. PPTminimizer comes in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish.

* Save Time – Faster data transfer
* Save Space – More effective data storage management
* Send&Receive – Transfer optimized files that fit in all inboxes
* Increase Productivity – Immediate savings of time and resources

Important: To activate the software you are requested to register on the manufacturer’s page (full version, free of charge). You will get a personalized serial number with which you can activate the software.

The Good

* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Works with .PPT and .DOC files.
* Is not tied to Microsoft Office; users don’t need to have Microsoft Office installed to use.
* Adds an (optional) entry in right click Explorer context menu for easy access.
* Supports batch processing.
* Works fairly quickly without being too strenuous on computer performance.

The Bad

* Does not support .PPTX or .DOCX (you need the latest v5.0 for that).
* Overwrites existing files of the same name in the same output directory without warning.

[CappinCanuck]

April 9, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Element TotalProtect (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/element-totalprotect/)

Element TotalProtect is a groundbreaking , light, all in one software package that provides impressive security, backup, PC tuneup tools brought to you by software professionals, Element Software UK.

Element TotalProtect 2010 automatically protects you and your family at all times – whether you work, bank, shop or play online. It has everything you need for a safe and secure Internet experience.
Key features:

* faster performance
* groundbreaking anti-malware technilogies
* automatic backup and PC tuneup

The Good

* Comes with multiple tools, such as anti-malware, firewall, website adviser, defrag, and file backup.
* Anti-malware includes live protection and on-demand scanning.
* Can “tweak”/”tune-up” your computer.
* Has the ability to “immunize” your computer against threats.

The Bad

* Developer claims database of malware signatures is “updated daily” but it has only been updates a handful of times (15 to be exact) in the past 6-7 months and each time only one signature was added.
* The website adviser doesn’t seem to do anything – just lists ever site as green.

[CappinCanuck]

April 10, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Daniusoft Video Converter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/daniusoft-video-converter/)

Daniusoft Video Converter offers you an intuitive interface for easy use, and it can handle an abundance of formats and take care of all your converting needs, no matter the conversion among all popular video formats or HD video formats, and allows you to customize your own videos. It also helps to extract and convert audio from videos. Then you can enjoy all your favorite videos and audio with your portable devices on the go.
Key Features:

* Convert videos among any formats, including HD and SD videos;
* Extract and convert audio from videos;
* Support Batch conversion;
* Powerful video editing function: trim, crop and custom effects options;
* Capture pictures from video to save as wallpaper;
* Professional output format setting;
* Support various portable players like iPod, iPhone, Android Phone, etc.

The Good

* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Can do video -> video, video -> audio, audio -> audio conversions.
* Supports many input and output formats.
* Has support for various different electronic devices, such as the iPhone or Motorola Droid.
* Allows users to do some video editing, such as crop, trim, add watermark, etc.
* Supports batch processing, drag + drop, and DirectShow files.
* Allows users to merge multiple input files together.
* Has a feature where the output files can be automatically split by size or time.
* Good output quality.

The Bad

* Does not have “keep default resolution” option for all output formats.
* Doesn’t allow usage of H.264 codec for FLV outputs.
* Converts a bit slowly (comparatively speaking).
* Has a bad choice of color theme – the text is hard to read at times.
* Gives users the ability to select how many cores their computer has but does not properly make use of multiple cores, if available.

Free Alternatives

iWisoft Video Converter
FormatFactory

[CappinCanuck]

April 11, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Lower Case Switcher (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/lower-case-switcher/)

This program will help you to convert letter case either if you need to capitalize the first letter in a name or if you forget to turn Caps Lock off while typing.

The program supports ALL keyboard layouts and languages (except for Chinese and other hieroglyphic languages) and umlauts and other symbols, which are usually entered by dead keys.
Letter case conversion:

* convert to upper case: uppercase -> UPPERCASE (Ctrl+[)
* convert to lower case: lOWERCASE -> lowercase (Ctrl+])
* capitalize first letter: sErGe -> Serge (Ctrl+/)
* invert text case: dENNIS -> Dennis (Ctrl+’)

[CappinCanuck]

April 12, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Advanced Registry Doctor Pro 9.2 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/advanced-registry-doctor-pro-9-2/)

Advanced Registry Doctor Pro is capable of scanning for, diagnosing and curing multiple registry problems, which averts possible malfunctions and crashes, and significantly improves the speed of computer loading and performance. In addition, the program comes with a set of advanced options, like registry defragmenting, built-in scheduler, backup and restore feature, history log and many other perks – a registry toolkit, for example.

This version of software looks through the following data for possible “registry spoilers”: application paths, uninstall information, COM/ActiveX objects, help files, file extensions, font files, most recently used files list, shared DLLs and folders, startup applications, Windows/MS-DOS Shortcuts. The automatic cure options means that any person, regardless of his or her PC literacy level can solve registry problems by simply pressing a button. Advanced users can opt to make registry changes manually.

The Good

* Has full registry management features (scan, repair, defrag, backup/restore).
* You can undo the ‘repair’ or ‘fixes’ you make.
* Ability to apply tweaks to Windows.
* Has preemptive protection against malicious ActiveX malware.
* There is a startup program manager.

The Bad

* A bit buggy.
* You cannot choose individual Windows tweaks to apply. It is all or nothing.
* Registry backup files are not self-executing (you must have a program that supports the backup format to restore your registry).
* You can only undo one ‘fix’ or ‘repair’ at a time.
* By default automatic backup of registry is not made before any ‘fix’ or ‘repair’.
* Developer displays semi-scareware Premium Booster advertisement during installation of Advanced Registry Doctor Pro.

Free alternatives

WinUtilities Professional Edition
TuneUp Utilities 2008
WinOptimizer 2010 Advanced

[CappinCanuck]

April 13, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 1AVCenter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/1avcenter/)

1AVCenter is a complete audio video center.

With 1AVCenter you can record audio and video, broadcast live video from any source (desktop, webcam, DVR, …), remotely monitor your desktop or webcam with access to live video and audio, and 1AVCenter also publishes a complete website directly from your PC that allows users to share files in a 128-bit protected secure environment.

Plus 1AVCenter allows users to send e-mails and upload files via FTP.

[CappinCanuck]

April 14, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Sothink HD Video Converter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sothink-hd-video-converter/)

Sothink HD Video Converter, an all-in-one HD converter, helps you to convert HD videos with high quality from PC and HD Camcorder to PS3, Xbox 360 and Apple TV. It will impress you with super fast HD converting speed, excellent export quality, and easy-to-use interface.

With HD Video Converter you can effortlessly convert any popular HD video formats, such as MKV, H.264/AVC, AVCHD (MTS, M2TS), AVI, DivX, HD WMV, MPEG, MP4, QuickTime (MOV), etc.

[CappinCanuck]

April 15, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - EASEUS Partition Master 5.5.1 Professional (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easeus-partition-master-5-5-1-professional/)

Magic Partition Solution – EASEUS Partition Master Professional Edition is all-in-one partition solution including three main features: Partition Manager, Partition Recovery Wizard and Disk & Partition Copy to solve all partition problems.

It helps extend system partition, copy partition, have better disk space management, do partition recovery to get data back, etc. Moreover, bootable CD supported!
Top Benefits:

* Extend system partition to maximize computer performance.
* Partition Manager utility for better hard disk management and computer performance maximization.
* Partition Recovery Wizard to perform PC disaster recovery to save data.
* Copy Wizard to copy partition or migrate entire hard disk to another without Windows system reinstallation.

The Good

* Straightforward and fairly easy to use.
* Has the typical partition management tools (resize, format, delete).
* You can change the letter and name of a partition.
* You can copy a whole hard drive or partition.
* Supports hardware RAID.
* Works on hard disks of upto 2 TB in size.
* You can hide/unhide partitions.
* Has some “error checking” features.
* Has the ability to copy dynamic disks.
* Has the ability to recover deleted/lost files and partitions.
* Has the ability to defrag disks.
* Has the abilty to “rebuild MBR”.
* Has the ability to securely delete/wipe hard drives.
* You can create a bootable disk.
* You can password protect the program.

The Bad

* Only supports Windows based partition formats (FAT, FAT32, NTFS) – no Linux or Mac.
* No option to not show existing files when using the file/partition recovery feature.
* The bootable/rescue disk does not include the file/partition recovery or defrag features.
* The program window always opens up fully maximized.

Free Alternatives

Paragon Partition Master Free Edition
Partition Wizard
EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition

[CappinCanuck]

April 16, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Gold Audio Extractor (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/gold-audio-extractor/)

Gold Audio Extractor is all you need to convert video of various formats to audio files! It is a user-friendly converter application that allows you to directly convert video of all popular formats into MP3, WAV, WMA, OGG, etc.
Main Features

* Converting Wizard & User-friendly Operating Window
* Best Support for Most Popular Formats
* Various Presets for Precise Output Control
* Batch File Conversion to Save Time

The Good

* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Can do video and audio conversions.
* Supports multiple input and output formats.
* Supports multiple electronic devices, such as the iPad.
* Supports batch processing and drag + drop.

The Bad

* Users are unable to manually customize output file settings.
* Users cannot resize program window.
* No ability to make use of multiple CPU cores (if applicable).

Free Alternatives

iWisoft Video Converter
FormatFactory

[CappinCanuck]

April 17, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AyRecovery Professional (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ayrecovery-professional/)

AyRecovery Professional is a very quick recovery software. 20 seconds are enough to recover your system to yesterday, last week or last month. 1,000 recover points are enough for you to choose. It will give you a trouble-free computing experience.
Key features:

* Protecting PC from any software problems.
* Restoring file &system quickly.
* Creating snapshots of entire system & data.
* Removing unwanted software installations.
* Create up to 1000 snapshots.

[CappinCanuck]

April 18, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Audio Speed Changer Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/audio-speed-changer-pro/)

Audio Speed Changer Pro allows you to speed up audio files without changing the pitch. It is primarily intended for accelerating audio books as well as podcasts, but can be surely used with any other sound track or file. Batch processing feature and convenient user interface make Audio Speed Changer Pro a valuable tool for book listeners and authors who want to save time.

With the help of this program you can tune the different tempo, pitch and even the playback rate for separate files in the list. You may use it also for transcoding audio – configurable output to MP3, OGG and AAC/MP4 file formats is supported. Converted audio will be available for speed-listening on your PC, Smartphone, iPod and any portable MP3 player.

Extra options include tag editing, downmixing to mono option, and the ability to normalize volume. Audio Speed Changer Pro supports drag-and-drop and can be integrated into the Windows Explorer shell for quick access to its major functions.

[CappinCanuck]

April 19, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Premium Booster 3.6 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/premium-booster-3-6/)

Premium Booster Premium Booster will optimize your PC in just a few easy steps. You will quickly notice that its magic really works and that your Windows becomes more stable if you keep using Premium Booster.

Premium Booster will cure your Windows by detecting errors causing misfunctioning of your programs and eliminating them. In just few mouse mouse clicks you will get a rejuvinated Windows as the program will quickly repair all found issues and optimize your system settings. The program is easy to use and doesn’t require any specific skills to achieve good results. Get Premium Booster and see if your Windows can perform better!

The Good
* Straightforward and fairly easy to use.
* Has full registry management (scan, repair, defrag, backup).
* You can undo the ‘repair’ or ‘fixes’ you make.
* Ability to apply tweaks to Windows.
* Has preemptive protection against malicious ActiveX malware.
* There is a startup program manager.
* Has 1-click registry optimization.

The Bad
* Registry backup files are not self-executing (you must have the program to restore your registry).
* Annoying bubble popup every time the program window is minimized – no way to turn it off.
* You can’t turn off “Quick Start”.
* I would prefer a formal automatic registry backup before making registry repairs rather than the existing selective repair undo feature.

Free Alternatives
WinUtilities Professional Edition
WinOptimizer 2010 Advanced
CCleaner

[CappinCanuck]

April 20, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Start Menu 7 Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/start-menu-7-pro/)

Start Menu 7 is the best software to replace the standard Windows Start Menu ever made. Before creating Start Menu 7 program, I’ve spent a lot of time to understand how a human brain works with visual information. That’s why Start Menu 7 is so easy and natural to use for everybody.
Key features:

* The list of menu items is alphabetically sorted, so you can easily find any program or command by its name.
* Open any location on your PC with a single click.
* There is a special Run button to access seldom used locations without adding them into menu.
* Start Menu 7 has a customizable Power Buttons panel.
* With Power Timer feature you can delay any of power management operations.
* Launch programs with a single click.
* Tabbed menu helps to place more stuff in the same display size. Any folder or drive can be managed as a separate tab.

[Hawkzombie]

Looks interesting. Have you tried it at all, Cappin?

[CappinCanuck]

Looks interesting. Have you tried it at all, Cappin?

Yeah, I'm not a fan. It's so cluttered. I prefer everything to look streamlined and simple. But everything is more accessible.

[Hawkzombie]

Yeah, I'm not a fan. It's so cluttered. I prefer everything to look streamlined and simple. But everything is more accessible.

Everything being open like that drew me to it, honestly. Might DL it and give it a whirl.

EDIT: Actually, I've been using the new Start Menu view for so long, I totally forgot about Classic View. It's basically the same sort of thing, just take up more screen space. Guess it boils down to personal pref. I hate to admit it, but the new Start Menu look may have finally grown on me.

[CappinCanuck]

April 21, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - System Upgrade Utilities 2010 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/system-upgrade-utilities-2010-english/) (English Version)

Make Windows 7 your smoothest OS upgrade ever!

Easily change from Windows XP/Vista to Windows 7 using Paragon System Upgrade Utilities 2010. With our leading-edge technology, you can move effortless to the latest operating system. Decide how long you want to keep your existing Windows system, and which applications and files you want to migrate to Windows 7.

System Upgrade Utilities offers a user-friendly package with tools to manage your switch to Windows 7, making it easy and effective. Instead of switching to Windows 7 directly with no recourse, our bundle lets you keep your habitual Windows XP/Vista configuration while using Windows 7 at the same time, on the same computer. With System Upgrade Utilities you can thoroughly test Windows 7 and then determine whether to make it your main operating system, if it meets all your needs.
Key Features and Benefits:

* Creating a dual-boot system: with the included partitioning options, you can easily create a dual-boot system on your computer. After the Windows 7 installation is completed, you will be able to access both of your operating systems, either Windows XP/Vista or Windows 7 whenever you need.
* Paragon boot manager: decide if you want to boot Windows XP/Vista or Windows 7. The Paragon Boot Manager shows a list of installed operating systems after turning on the computer.
* P2V Migration/Restore: physical Windows hard drives, individual partitions or other backup files can be migrated into a virtual environment and respectively be restored. With this method, you’ll be able to use Windows 7 and your previous Windows XP/Vista at the same time. Make a virtual system for one of these configurations while keeping the other in a physical environment.
* P2P Adjust: recover the OS startup ability after system migration to a different hardware platform.
* Backup and Restore: the Partition Manager + Virtualization Manger Bundle contains features to conduct full system backups and restore them later on. Using the “Initial Backup” Wizard, it is simple to create an image backup on local hard drives, network shares or USB drives.

[CappinCanuck]

April 22, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Sothink iPhone Video Converter
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sothink-iphone-video-converter/)

Sothink iPhone Video Converter is a One-Click, All-in-One solution specially designed for iPhone/iPod/iPod Touch/Apple TV users. It will amaze the iPhone fans greatly for being a powerful iPhone video converter which supports both video and audio.

This outstanding iPhone video converter batch converts all popular video to iPhone/iPod/iPod Touch/Apple TV (such as AVI, MPEG, MPG, MKV, MOV, WMV, ASF, MP4, 3GP and RM/RMVB). You can also convert video to iPhone with H.264 encoded MPEG-4 movies (MP4) to spice up digital entertainment life.

Serving additionally as an iPhone music converter, this iPhone Converter provides an easy way to convert popular audio files like MP3, WMA, WAV, M4A, AAC, APE, CUE to iPhone MP3 and M4A.

[CappinCanuck]

April 23, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AllMySongs Database 1.3
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/allmysongs-database-1-3/)
AllMySongs Database is a music library for managing and cataloging music files and Audio CD. It supports MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV e.t.c music files formats. You can easily find any song from your music collection according to title, album, artist, genre e.t.c. or any complex conditions. Also, with AllMySongs Database powerful tools you can download automatically from internet album covers, artists photos, artists biography, Audio CD information.
What’s new in version 1.3:

* Fixed issue with MCI driver.
* Database updated.
* New skins/interface.
* Print tracks’ list, album’s tracks, album’s cover.
* Database statistics.
* Minor bugs fixed.

[CappinCanuck]

April 24, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Watermark Software (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/watermark-software/)

If you are sharing photos via internet, you are at the risk of losing them. Someone could take the photos for their own use and you might never even know. Watermark software is a professional photo watermark creator. It can help you add text, image and logo to your pictures to protect your copyrights, only photo watermarking software can verify your pictures and protect them from unauthorized using.
Key features:

* Secure Protection
* Pretty Frames
* Fast Watermarking Process
* Display EXIF Information
* Support all popular photo formats
* Photo Resize

The Good
* Allows users to add image and/or text watermarks.
* Users can add as many watermarks as they want.
* Allows users to add “frames”, crop, resize, rotate, flip, or rename images.
* Supports batch processing.
* Support many image formats.
* Users can save watermark templates and reuse them as they wish.
* Has the ability to resize watermarks automatically to properly fit images of different sizes.

The Bad
* Doesn’t properly resize watermarks automatically for some images.
* No undo/redo capabilities.
* Rotating and flipping or images is done in real time – changes are made to your actual original image as you rotate or flip.
* Needs a better way to change font size in text watermarks.

Free Alternatives
FastStone Photo Resizer

[CappinCanuck]

April 25, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Photo-Lux 3.6 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/photo-lux-3-6/)

Photo-Lux is an extended image viewer with a lot of image processing features such as RGB/ Brightness/ Contrast/ Gamma – correction, auto white balance, red-eye reduction etc.

It supports every file type you can imagine, and some you can’t (including almost all Camera RAW formats). It contains slideshow and HTML album maker. For JPEGs, TIFFs and RAWs it uses EXIF-tag to auto rotate the images.

PROS:
* Successful download, installation, activation on Vista x32 OS.
* Activation and registration were automatic – no need to enter codes.
* Registration information shows up in “About” section, under user’s PC-designated name, not GOTD’s name.
* Supports: English and German installation and GUI languages.
* Complete, detailed Help File (including contact information) located within program.
* Simple, clear, easy-to-navigate GUI.
* Supports image formats: BMP, CUR, DIB, EMF, FAX, G3N/G3F, GIF, ICB, ICO, J2C/J2K, JP2, JPC, JPG/JPEG, JFIF/JIF, PBM, PCX, PSD/PDD,PGM, PNG, PPM, PXM, RGB/RGBA, RLE, SGI/BW, TGA, TIF/TIFF, VDA/VST, WMF.
* Supports image: viewing, editing, thumbnail previews, full-screen view and slideshow, TWAIN format.
* Supports: HTML Album generation, wallpaper generation.
* Supports: exif, IPTC info., and sound effects, amongst other things.
* Feature-rich, in general – too numerous to list everything in detail here.
* Smooth, easy program use/operation.
* Quality of edited images equals quality of original images.
* Quality of slideshow and album outputs is good.
* Allows user to save edited image file with a different name than original image, thus preserving integrity/name/location of original image.

CONS:
* Nothing significant to note at the moment.

Freeware Options
Vicman’s Web Album

PhotoScape

WaterMark V2

[CappinCanuck]

April 26, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Folder Marker Home 3.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/foldermarkerhome-3-0/)

A handy shell extension that enables you to mark folder icons to indicate a priority level (high, low, normal), level of project completeness (done, half-done, planned), work status (approved, rejected, pending), and type of information stored within (work, important, temp and private files).

Simply right-click on any folder and select the icon or color to be used from the newly added menu option. The perfect download if you need a little extra boost getting your files in order. Try it now! Change folder color or change folder icon!

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Allows users to change the icon of a folder to colorcode, add a letter, add a number, etc.
* Users can import and use custom icons.
* Users change the icon of multiple folders at once.
* Allows for easy change back to default icon if desired.
* Has a feature where users can set it so a folder icon change will be carried over from computer to computer.
* Adds a right-click context menu entry for easy access to icon changes.

The Bad
* Doesn’t support network icons (need Pro version for that).

Free Alternatives
Folderico

[CappinCanuck]

April 27, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - iCare Format Recovery (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/icare-format-recovery/)

Dedicated to unformat file recovery and compatible with Windows 7, iCare Format Recovery will professionally help to recover files from formatted partition, formatted external hard disk, formatted memory card, formatted removable drives like pen stick, USB drive, etc. Besides drive formatted file recovery, iCare Format Recovery can also recover files when drive or card has not formatted error.

What’s more, it also recover files from deleted partition, files emptied by SHIFT+DEL, files lost due to unreadable partition, lost MBR etc. It is a nice toolkit for computer data rescue. Take your time to grab a free copy now.

[CappinCanuck]

April 28, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Wondershare SafeLock (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/wondershare-safelock/)

Wondershare SafeLock is reliable file encryption software to help you encrypt sensitive files for safe keep or secure transfer across internet. It can lock folders and encrypt any type of files including Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents stored on your desktop, notebook, or removable data storage devices.

Advanced algorithms Wondershare SafeLock let you protect your personal confidential data against unauthorized access. Nobody (especially hackers) can see what you used the internet for, penetrate your system, or find your valuable information.
Wizard interfaces guide users through all the necessary steps needed.
Key Features

* Advanced encryption algorithms, no possibility for decryption by others.
* Quickly and safely encrypt and compress files/folders
* Hide your sensitive files after encryption
* Support all Windows Versions including Win7, Vista, etc.

The Good
* Straightfoward and easy to use.
* Can encrypt individual files normally or encrypt them as a standalone .EXE.
* Supports multiple different encryption algorithms.
* Allows users to encrypt/decrypt multiple files/folders at once.
* Can password protect whole folders.
* Allows users to easily view encrypted files, then have them be automatically re-encrypted.
* Has the ability to “hide” files within other files.
* Has the ability to securely shred/delete files.
* Comes with a handful of other tools such as hiding a partition or disable registry edits.
* Program can be password protected.

The Bad
* Developer is not very clear on the algorithm used to securely delete files.

Free Alternatives
AxCrypt
TrueCrypt

[CappinCanuck]

April 29, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Sothink Video Converter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sothink-video-converter/)

Sothink Video Converter is a compact and user-friendly video converting application. It can fast convert videos between all formats including AVI, MPEG, iPod, iPhone, PSP, 3GP, Zune, etc.

This video converter can simply crop and trim videos into clips or segments, and convert video clips into other popular formats. It also provides video previewing and batch video conversion mode for convenience.

Compared with other video converters, Sothink Video Converter will bring you faster video conversion experience, and higher picture quality. It is a professional all-in-one video converter.

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Supports multiple input and output video formats.
* Supports iPod, iPhone, PSP, and Zune.
* Supports drag + drop and batch processing.
* Allows users to crop or trim videos before converting.
* Allows user to automatically shutdown computer after conversions have finished.

The Bad
* Does not support .FLV input or output.
* Does not support .RMVB output.
* Does not support “general” .MP4 output.
* Does not allow user to change video codec for any output except for .AVI.
* No way to change name of output file, or rename it if a file with the same name already exists in output directory.
* Program window is not resizeable.

Free Alternatives
iWisoft Video Converter
FormatFactory

[CappinCanuck]

April 30, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Simpo Word to PDF
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/simpo-word-to-pdf/#more-12115)
Simpo Word to PDF is your best Microsoft Office Word partner for creating professional and high-quality PDF documents from Word .DOC and .DOCX files.

This powerful Word to PDF converter will get you shock, since it accurately keeps the layout, text, tables, images, etc. of the original word files, and even preserve hyperlinks in word documents. To save your time, it’s allowed to convert Word to PDF in batch with fast speed!

[CappinCanuck]

May 1, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Pixo (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/pixo/#more-12175)

Pixo is more than just Effects!

With over 40 special effects, you are sure to find many for any of your photos. All of the favourite ones, like Sepia and Grayscale, as well as some really cool ones are here! You can even change the brightness and contrast of your photos with Pixo.

Unlike many other applications, Pixo uses a Paintbrush metaphor to apply the effects. This is particularly useful since there is no need for any technical or specialist knowledge such as image selection or lasso tool. Furthermore, you have the freedom to apply the effects anywhere on the photo images!

Pixo enables you to print or email your work directly from the application with a click of a button! As well as all the popular image formats, such as BMP, JPEG, PNG and many more, you can export your created images as PDF files.

[CappinCanuck]

May 2, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AV Video Morpher 3.0
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/av-video-morpher-3-0/)
This all-in-one home movie editor completes your home entertainment center and inspires you to create your own movies, dub your own voices and burn your own DVDs.
You can watch, morph, burn, convert, and capture movies for your own home entertainment or for uploading; you can also use the same capabilities to produce videos and presentations for business purposes.
Main Benefits:

* Produce Your Own Movies by dubbing your own voices into movies, adding effects, and then burning it all to a DVD.
* Remove Voice from Movies. You can remove the original voices from any movie or clip, and dub in your own voices later.
* Make any Actor Become an Alien, Ghost, Priest, etc. Add audio effects to change the voice of any actor.
* Make Cartoons, Movies, TV shows, etc. Capture any frame, clip, or entire movie your want, and then add in voices and effects to enhance and enlarge your collection.
* Make a Documentary Movie. You can produce professional quality, black and white video for that perfect documentary effect.

The Good
* Smooth download, installation, registration on Vista x32 OS.
* Allows for recording of video creation to CD-R/CD-RW and DVD-R/DVD-RW discs.
* Allows for creation of CD/DVD Covers.
* Has numerous effects and functions options, too numerous to list here.
* Allows for HotKey Support for various functions and actions.
* Extensive Help File (including technical-support contact information) located within program.
* Has its own internal “Funny Space” Web Browser – for additional RingTone Options.
* Simple, easy-to-understand, easy-to-navigate GUI.
* Easy, simple program operation – i.e., low learning curve.

The Bad
* Program Window cannot be re-sized – it’s fixed.
* Registration process requires user to access developer’s website and provide full name and email address to register with Audio4Fun Community in order to receive program activation serial number. By the way, the direct registration web link is: http://dvd-player.audio4fun.com/giveawayoftheday-videomorpher.php

To avoid possible future spamming by developer, you may give a temporary (throwaway) email address, so as not to be bombarded with future emails from developer.

Free Alternatives
Windows Movie Maker Vista
DebugMode Wax
Video Edit Master

[CappinCanuck]

May 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Aston Menu (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aston-menu/)

Aston Menu is a feature-rich Windows start menu replacement with the enhanced functionality. Absolutely all Aston Menu elements are skinnable and can be animated, which makes it yet more attractive. It supports animation and sound effects.

Aston Menu increases productivity, it is easy to use and safe to remove. It can be populated with many useful widgets like Clock, Calendar, Recycle bin, Disks, Search, Top Programs, Weather, RSS and other. Aston Menu provides fast and convenient search for files on local disks and for information in the Internet. It is resource-friendly and supports many languages, Unicode, XML and drag’n'drop operation.

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Allows users to easily “skin” the start menu.
o There are many skins available to pick from.
* Has widget support for the start menu; users can easily drag + drop widgets around as they please.
* Allows users to customize the entries present in the start menu.
* Gives users the option to show entries as folders or as menus.
* Incorporates the ability to do a Google search in addition a desktop search.
* Comes with basic hotkey modifying features.

The Bad
* Users are limited to a select number of entries that can be added to the start menu – no custom entry option.
* Needs an ability to directly add entries to the “Top Programs” list.
* No undo/redo feature when editing start menu entries.
* No hotkey support for switching between Google search and desktop search.

Free Alternatives
VistaStartMenu/StartMenu7
Classic Shell

[CappinCanuck]

May 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Music Making in MS Word 1.5 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/music-making-in-ms-word-1-5/)

Embed sheet music into Microsoft Word documents quickly and easily! Music Making in MS Word combines all the powerful features of one of the most popular music notation products, MagicScore School 6, with advanced document editing and publishing features of Microsoft Word, allowing to create stunning publications, brochures, books and handouts that look great on-line and on paper.
Use Music Making in MS Word to do the following:

* Compose and transpose music.
* Produce on-line publications and printed matter.
* Print sheet music or publish sheet music in the Internet.
* Send Word documents with sheet music to anyone with or without Music Making in MS Word , even if they don’t have any music notation programs installed.
* Be creative with advanced music notation editing features in the familiar Microsoft Word environment.

[CappinCanuck]

May 5, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Paragon Drive Backup 9.5 Professional Edition (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/paragon-drive-backup-9-5-professional/)

This highly-rated tool set for backup and recovery provides powerful features to effectively protect valuable company data and systems. Experienced Windows users, Boot Camp users, system administrators and IT experts leverage robust technologies and time saving wizards to safely backup – and restore – the company’s servers, workstations, and laptops. Use Drive Backup Professional regularly and profit from an absolutely reliable protection of your system.
Key and New Features:

* Windows 7 Support. Enjoy full-fledged support for Windows 7
* Smart Backup Wizard. Quickly backup following files and folders: My Documents,My Media Files, My Email Folders and easily secure valuable data without additional configurations. You can leverage sector backups for the same purpose, by creating archives of whole partitions (with all redundant data)
* Backup and Restore to or from FTP. Offload backup images to offsite storage for an even higher level of protection if disaster strikes. Get your OS and data back on track even if other backup storages and media are unavailable.
* Improved Hot Processing Options. Live backup is a key feature for any backup software. The product has an improved, highly flexible configuration for two different methods of hot processing: Paragon HotBackup and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).
* Script Generator. Offers advanced scripting options like remote and conditional execution, subroutines, repeatable iterations, disk/partition properties analysis, error management and much more

[CappinCanuck]

May 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - uMark Professional 1.3
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/uconomix-umark-pro/)
uMark is a powerful batch watermarking software. It enables you to add visible watermarks to your digital images and photos.

It can be your company name, logo or a copyright notice – uMark can add all! You can fully customize the placement of your watermark, set a custom font, size, color and transparency. You can also rotate and tile the watermark. uMark can also generate thumbnails and batch convert images.

The Good
* Provides users with the ability ability to add text or image watermark (both can be added to the same image).
* Supports batch processing.
* Gives users a fair bit of control over how the watermark looks (opacity, position, tilt, etc.)
* Output images can be renamed, converted to a different format, and resized.
* Users can save watermark settings and reload them to use in the future.

The Bad
* Users can not add multiple text or image watermarks on the same image.
* Users can’t resize the image that is going to be used for image watermark.
* Does not support PNG image format for image watermarks (only BMP, GIF, and JPG).
* Watermark are not automatically resized to be relative to image size.
* Users are not allowed to click + drag watermarks to easily position them – they must use the buttons provided
* Does not support drag + drop

Free Alternatives
PhotoWham!
FastStone Image Resizer

[CappinCanuck]

May 7, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - PDFZilla 1.2.9 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/pdfzilla-1-2-9/)

PDFZilla is a desktop application that quickly and accurately convert PDF files into editable MS Word Documents, Rich Text Documents, Plain Text Files, Images, HTML Files, and Shockwave Flash SWF Files.

PDFZilla supports most of popular formats: DOC, RTF, TXT, BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, TIF, HTML, SWF formats.PDFZilla also support batch convert mode and Page Selection.

PROS
* Successful download, installation, activation, registration on Vista x32 OS.
* Simple, attractive, easy-to-understand, easy-to-navigate GUI.
* extensive Help File (including tech-support info.) located in program.
* Can select/convert single file or entire folder for conversion.
* Supports Drag & Drop of files onto conversion area of inside screen.
* user may designated location of output folder for conversions.
* user may select output conversion format from within inside screen or from main/outside screen.
* progress bar at bottom of inside screen allows user to monitor output conversion status.
* conversions are very quick – too quick to time specifically.

CONS
* program window cannot be re-sized.
* quality of converted output is hit-or-miss (i.e., inconsistent. The resulting MSWord, RTF, Text, and HTML output documents were accurate for the most part, except for the number “5″ was converted into the letter “s” – but this is editable, so it may be fixed during the post-conversion editing process. Also, the signature-field conversion yielded a bunch of unreadable “gobblety-gook.” The “SWF”-converted output was completely inoperable – it did not work at all. Lastly, all image-converted outputs (gif, bmp, png, etc.) were all 100% accurate and flawless (even the signature field was 100% correct).

Summary – The program would be much better if the noted flaws were eliminated. But, despite these flaws, the program does serve a useful purpose of allowing the user to edit a PDF document, as needed (especially in the MSWord, Text, RTF, HTML modes.) The image-format output conversions are perfect, so all-in-all, the program does as it says (in the final analysis) – and I give the program an overall thumbs up. Thanks, GOTD and PDFZilla.

Freeware Options
Free PDF to Word
PDFill PDF Editor
Some PDF

[CappinCanuck]

May 8, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - WinX Cell Phone Video Converter
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/winx-cell-phone-video-converter/)
WinX Cell Phone Video Converter is an all-in-one video to cell phone converter software. With 160 video codecs and 50 audio codecs built in, it can convert all popular HD video and SD video formats to 3GP, MP4, AVC, etc. which are supported by mobile phone and smart phone, like Nokia, Blackberry, Android phone, iPhone, etc.

It is the first video converter that supports converting Multi-track HD videos such as BDAV, M2TS, MKV, AVCHD, HDTV, MPEG-TS video. You can choose any audio language track and video track from your Multi-track videos. This mobile phone video converter also owns the ability of extracting audio from video files as MP3 and taking picture from video files. It is the best way to backup video files you collected from internet, HD camcorder, Blu-ray videos, HDTV, etc.

It optimizes the conversion speed with multi-core CPU and hyper threading supported. WinX Cell Phone Video Converter also provides editing functions which allows users to clip video segment from the video files to convert, adjust parameter settings according to their devices, change video size as desire, etc. It is perfectly compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7.

PROS:
* Successful download, installation, activation, registration on Vista x32 OS.
* Registration of program was automatic – no need to enter codes into fields.
* registration information shows up in “About” section of program.
* Supports video conversions for: Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, 3GP, MP4, Music.
* Clear, simple, step-by-step instructions listed on Main Screen.
* Allows user to set location of output folder for converted videos.
* Provides preview screen for user to view video during conversion process.
* Supports multiple/batch video conversions simultaneously.
* Displays start and end times of video-conversion durations.
* Simple, easy-to-understand, easy-to-navigate User Interface.
* Very easy program operation – i.e., very low learning curve.
* quality of converted videos equals quality of original videos.
* tech-support contact information located within program.

CONS:
* program window cannot be re-sized.
* name of converted video-output file is fixed (no way for user to designate/change file name.)

FREEWARE OPTIONS:

HandBrake
Super
Format Factory

[CappinCanuck]

May 9, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Angel’s Vox 1.4
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/angels-vox-1-4/)
Angel’s Vox is the first audio player and ebook reader on the market designed specifically for audiobook enthusiasts. Angel’s Vox is an innovative and handy solution! With the help of Angel’s Vox, you can maintain a library of your audio books.

You can configure a different volume level and playback speed for each one, and their settings will be restored when you replay them. Their track position will also be restored to the exact point where you’ve stopped listening to them. Like other media player programs, Angel’s Vox can also be integrated into the Windows Explorer shell for quick access to its major functions.

[CappinCanuck]

May 10, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Atmosphere Lite Plus (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/atmosphere-lite-plus/)

Atmosphere Lite Plus is designed to help mask noise, promote relaxation or even to replace an entire collection of natural sound CDs. You can listen to the soundscapes in realtime or use the inbuilt recorder to create your own relaxation / ambient sound CDs or MP3s using the sounds you find most pleasing.

There are several soundscapes included which can be loaded with one click from the main interface. However the real beauty of Atmosphere Lite Plus is the ability to customize these inbuilt soundscapes exactly to your liking, or create entirely new ones by adding individual sounds to a blank soundscape.

PROS:
* Smooth download, installation, activation, registration on Vista x32 OS.
* Registration is automatic – no codes need to be entered into fields.
* 11 installation languages suppported: Catala, Dansk, Deutsch, English, Francais, Italiano, Nederlands, Norsk, Portugues (Brasil), Portugues (Portugal), Suomi.
* Extensive Help File (including contact information) located within program.
* Functions include: timer, alarm, slideshow, scheduler, set volume.
* There are 18 different soothing background/nature sounds.
* There are 12 other animal/thunder sounds.
* There are random-sound presets.
* Program allows user to create custom sounds.
* Program has many other edit settings – too many to list here.
* $19.95 price is reasonable and comparable with other similar paid programs.

CONS:
* Window may not be resized.
* EULA states this program is freeware. If I read and understood this correctly, then why is it being offered as a giveaway? Confusing to say the least.

Summary – Program is very easy to use and does as it says, so 2-thumbs-up for today’s giveaway. Thanks, GOTD and Vectormedia.

Freeware Options:
Virtual Ambience-CNET User Rating 4/5.

Virtual Light Sound Meditation Machine – CNET User Rating 3/5.

[CappinCanuck]

May 11, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AltDesk (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/altdesk-191/)

AltDesk is a Skinnable Virtual Desktop Manager for Windows, which makes your daily work easier.
It offers you a completely new way of managing running applications on your computer, just as if you had a whole set of monitors. For example, you could launch an Office suite on one Virtual Desktop while working with your e-mail on another. Swapping tasks and switching Desktops can be easily done in the blink of an eye.

AltDesk supports skins, which let you choose your preferred appearance and form. AltDesk displays applications’ icons, supports thumbnails, drag-and-drop and lets you pin applications to certain desktops. It does not require a lot of precious screen space, usually being as small as a window title bar. You can also minimize AltDesk to tray and switch tasks with hotkeys.
AltDesk has a user friendly interface, translated into many languages, which makes working with it even more comfortable.
A brief list of AltDesk features includes:

* Easy task managing.
* Simple, user-friendly interface.
* Little resource consumption.
* Hotkeys for any actions.
* Skins to change the program’s appearance.
* Reliability: even in case of a failure you’ll be able to recover the lost application’s window.
* Numerous advanced features, like setting unique wallpapers for each Virtual Desktop, sticky apps, autorun and so on.

[CappinCanuck]

May 12, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Sothink DHTML Menu 9.3 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/sothink-dhtml-menu-9-3/)

It is an easy and productive drop down menu builder to create SEO friendly drop down menu, JavaScript menu for web navigation without writing a single line of code. Rich templates and preset styles let you create professional JavaScript menu in no time. Free integration enables you to add the menus to webpage using existing HTML editor. The JavaScript menu appearance can be fully customized.
Key features:

* Perfect Compatibility
* Diverse Functional Menu
* Flexible Customization
* High Usability

The Good
* Makes creating dynamic JavaScript based menus very easy.
* Supports creation of horizontal and vertical menus.
* Supports creation of dynamic database driven menus.
* Gives you full control over your menu and its contents.
* Comes with many very nice predesigned templates that you can use (or you can start from “scratch”).
* You can preview your menu in a web browser before publishing.
* Provides you with directions on how to place the menu on your website.
* Has plugins for FrontPage, Dreamwaver, and Expression Web.
* Has extra tools such as sitemap generator, Google XML generator, etc.
* Excellent help section and tutorials.

The Bad
* Menus do not degrade gracefully for users that have JavaScript turned off.
* Sneaky “watermarks” are tucked into output files.

Freeware Options
Tigra Menu Builder
PHP Layers Menu

[CappinCanuck]

May 13, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Wondershare USB Drive Encryption (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/wondershare-usb-drive-encryption/)

Wondershare USB Drive Encryption is a handy tool to encrypt USB drives and other portable storage devices so as to protect your confidential data. Its US military-level 256-bit AES encryption can guarantee the highest security for your business and personal data. With USB Drive Encryption, you are no longer to worry about data exposure even if your USB drive is misplaced, lost or stolen. Wondershare USB Drive Encryption, your easy and powerful privacy safeguard!
Key Features:

* Get the highest-level protection for your data through its US military-level 256-bit AES algorithm.
* Create a password protected and resizable secure area for sensitive information.
* View encrypted data with password in any computer even without USB Drive Encryption installed.
* Hide your encrypted data by deleting the access to it to get more protection.
* Protect encrypted data from viruses under read-only mode.
* Support various USB devices, such as USB sticks, external hard drives, camera cards, and other portable storage media.
* Easy-to-use, no administrator privileges required.

The Good
* Straightforward and very easy to use.
* Allows users to “install”, “remove”, or “recover” secure “container”.
* Supports all portable media, including but not limited to USB/flash drives, and external hard drives.

The Bad
* Is a little bit buggy.

Free Alternatives
SafeHouse Explorer
TrueCrypt

[CappinCanuck]

May 14, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 3D Text
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/binerus-3d-text/)
3D Text is a compact, flexible and affordable tool that will help you create custom 3D logos and headers in no time. The changes you make to the text are instantly reflected on the object in the preview window.

You can rotate the camera view freely to select the optimal rendering angle. 3D Text offers everything you need to create a cool-looking 3D logo or text fragment in seconds, so if you ever need one – you know the name of the right tool!

The Good
* Allows users to easily create 3D text and export it as JPG, PNG, GIF, or BMP images.
* Allows users to customize the color, size, “depth”, and font of the 3D text.
* Allows users to customize the color, size, “depth”, and shape of the “frame”.
* Comes with dozens of patterns users can apply to text or background frame.

The Bad
* A bit simplistic.
* Users are only allowed to use a transparent or solid color background – no ability to import an image or use a pattern for the background.
* Uses horizontal scrolling for feature selection, as opposed to using more user-friendly tabs, menus, or vertical scrolling.
* No proper documentation.

Free Alternatives
3DTextMaker

[CappinCanuck]

May 15, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Gold Fish Animated Wallpaper (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/gold-fish-animated-wallpaper/)

Beautiful gold fish swim around your desktop in this underwater adventure!

[CappinCanuck]

May 16, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Uconomix SnapLogger
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/uconomix-snaplogger/)
Record and play back your day like a movie. Track your time “visually”. SnapLogger takes screenshots of your computer at regular intervals and plays it back like a movie showing what you did the whole day.

It makes filling up timesheets a breeze because you can see what you did on your computer at a specific time on a particular day. If your work involves billing your clients for your time then SnapLogger is a must have tool for you.

[CappinCanuck]

May 17, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Skype Recorder (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/extralabs-skype-recorder/)

Skype Recorder is a surprisingly easy-to-use tool for recording Skype audio conversations. It is really simple to create a new recording. All you need is to run Skype Recorder.

The software will start recording as soon as you start talking on Skype. The conversation over, Skype Recorder will encode the recording to the specified format and will save the ready file on your hard drive. Due to the built-in audio player, you will be able to listen to the recording in no time and do whatever you like – delete it, move or upload to the site.
Skype Recorder has a range of efficient and advanced capabilities:

* Manually start/stop/pause, or automatically record Skype calls
* Convert your calls to MP3/OGG/WMA/WAV format
* Built-in audio player, built-in FTP client
* ‘Spy’ mode

[CappinCanuck]

May 18, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Media Buddy (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/media-buddy/)

Media Buddy – convert music & movies for on-the-go enjoyment!

This is an early, but stable release of our newest media converter for portable devices. Media Buddy giveaway will help us receive user feedback for improving future versions. It is a versatile tool that can convert almost any given multimedia files, be it video or audio, to a huge variety of media formats that are suitable for playback on DVD and portable players, mobile phones, gaming consoles and whatnot.

Supported devices and formats: iPod, iPhone, Zune, PSP, Archos, XBOX360, PlayStation3, Wii, Creative Zen, iRiver, Cowon and others; DivX AVI, MP4, Windows Media, Flash Video, MP3, OGG, AC3, FLAC, WAV, etc.

[CappinCanuck]

May 19, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - easyQuizzy
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easyquizzy/)
easyQuizzy is an efficient and simple solution for creating your own tests. Using this program, tests can be quickly and easily created for a wide variety of purposes. Produced tests are independent and easily distributable portable executable files for use on any other machine.

This solution is ideal for those who are looking for an enjoyable and effective program for revision purposes, or to see how students are progressing through a course or simply for sharing quizzes for fun amongst friends. Creating tests is a quick and easy task, regardless of what you are creating them for.

[CappinCanuck]

May 20, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 3D Ebook Cover (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/3d-ebook-cover/)

Use 3D Ebook Cover software to create high-definition 3D product shots for online and offline display. No 3D skills required – 3D Ebook Cover does all the work for you. Its easy to learn interface means you can be an expert user right away.

Build a scene using one of 114 templates or by using the following objects: software box, brochure, CD box, DVD box, DVD/CD, hardcover, magazine, membership card, paperback, spiral memo book, spiral notebook, Vista box. Move, rotate, and scale objects using the mouse right in the Preview Window. To change images, just click on the image you want right in the Preview Window. Adjust lighting, shadows and reflections of objects to make the images you create even more realistic.

3D Ebook Cover makes you look like a pro. Generate images of outstanding quality and unsurpassed realism. Save your time and money!

[CappinCanuck]

May 21, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Process Lasso (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/process-lasso/)

Process Lasso is a unique new technology that will improve your PC’s responsiveness and stability. Windows, by design, allows programs to monopolize your CPU without sufficient restraint – leading to hangs and micro-lags.

Process Lasso’s ProBalance (Process Balance) technology intelligently adjusts the priorities of running programs so that badly behaved processes won’t negatively impact the responsiveness of your PC. It does this not by raising process priorities, but instead by temporarily lowering the priorities of background processes that may be interfering with foreground responsiveness. In addition, there are countless features allowing the user to take full automated control of the processes on their PC.

[CappinCanuck]

May 22, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - FolderMage Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/foldermage-pro/)

FolderMage Pro is new and extremely easy software aimed to hide, lock, make read-only and password protect your private files and folders from other users, programs or malicious applications.

FolderMage Pro enables you to password protect all the private or sensitive information on your hard drive(s) and external devices. You can make your files and folders inaccessible, invisible, protect them from modification and deletion, restrict execution from them.

[CappinCanuck]

My apologies for the lameness of my updating lately. It'll be back to normal in a week or so, I'm in the middle of a move.

[Jackel]

No problems. I do appreciate ya posting them when ya do but focus on the most for now. I can live lol.

[CappinCanuck]

May 23, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 3D Waterfall Screensaver (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/3-d-waterfall-screensaver/)

A beautiful waterfall setting is waiting for you far away from the noise of the city.

Watch the eye-pleasing scenery surrounding this enchanting wonder of Nature. Listen to the melodic sounds of the waterfall bubbling by and see the fish rushing up and down the stream.

This is not just another slide-show or simple flash screensaver. The whole setting was built in 3D from scratch and the quality of animation can rival that of Disney.

[CappinCanuck]

May 24, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Ultima Website (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ultima-website-17/)

If you are looking to create a personal website quickly and easily, yet do not have any special knowledge on the subject, then Ultima Website is the answer to your problems. Allowing you to design your website entirely in WYSIWYG mode, you do not need to have any knowledge of HTML coding or any other special area of expertise. This program will achieve what is needed, and all for a fraction of the cost of a professional web designer.

[CappinCanuck]

May 25, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Paragon Drive Copy 9.5 Personal Edition (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/drive-copy-9-5-personal-edition-english-version/)

Create a virtual clone of your PC, including operating system, drivers and settings, all your applications and files. Save it to the USB hard drive and use it on another computer, just as if you’re working from your own PC.

Use Drive Copy Personal to easily migrate to new hard drive or even different hardware without reinstalling, create backup images of your hard drive, and perform basic partitioning operations and even more.
Learn how to make your system mobile with Drive Copy 9.5:

1. Create a virtual clone on your PC. Including operating system, drivers and settings, all your applications and files.
2. You can choose the format of your virtual environment. Choose format you prefer –VMWARE or MS Virtual PC. New users can download a virtual player from the official site of preferred vendor for free.
3. Save a virtual clone of your PC to a USB hard drive. Save a virtual player on the same disk as well and use your PC anywhere.
4. Your PC is in your pocket now! Plug your USB drive to other computers, install a virtual player there and use your PC anytime you need it.

Key and New Features:

* Windows 7 Support (32/64-bit). Accomplish any operation under Windows 7.
* Refined User Interface. Improved two-level user interface (Easy/Advanced) to satisfy the needs of every customer.
* Support for major virtual machines. MS Virtual PC, VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion.
* Wide migration options. Migrate to another hard drive, migrate to different hardware, migrate to virtual machine, migrate your Apple hard drive.
* P2V Copy. Migrate a Win2K+ physical system to a virtual environment.
* P2P Adjust OS. Make OS start up after unsuccessful migration with 3rd party tools.
* Smart Driver Injector. Make the process of adding new drivers smooth and easy.
* Simple Backup and Restore Wizard. Make the process of adding new drivers smooth and easy. Create compressed image of your hard drive or partition.

[CappinCanuck]

May 26, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Aston 2 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aston-2/)

Aston is an original shell replacement for Windows – you can use it as a whole and customize every desktop element the way you like.

Aston hotkey manager, floating widgets, main menu and panels let you get easy access to files, folders and applications on your choice. Aston offers the completely unique approach with yet unseen features and themes with 3D animated themes, skins and wallpaper.

Every element of Aston: main menu, desktop, panels – can be tweaked and customized, thus letting one create the most convenient working area. Themes and skins for Aston are available for download on the official Aston shell site.

[CappinCanuck]

May 27, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Ashampoo WinOptimizer 6
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ashampoo-winoptimizer-6/)
With the reliability of 12 years of experience, Ashampoo WinOptimizer 6 makes Windows maintenance fast and easy – and it works for Windows XP just as well as it does for Vista and Windows 7. The One-click Optimizer does what it says and you can even schedule it to run automatically so that you don’t need to think about it at all. It keeps your Windows computer running as fast and smoothly as on the first day you bought it.

In addition to efficient Windows maintenance you also get a whole suite of powerful, easy-to-use tools that enable you to configure and tune your Windows computer so that it works exactly the way you want it to.

[CappinCanuck]

May 28, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Cleanse Uninstaller Pro 6.5 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/cleanse-uninstaller-pro-6-2/)

Cleanse Uninstaller Pro is the advanced uninstaller that finds and removes even the most stubborn software. Uninstall faster, easier and more completely than you do with other programs. No more problems with uninstalling!

Using the Auto Find uninstall software function all you have to do is drag and drop the program’s icon you want to uninstall onto Cleanse Uninstallers icon and Cleanse will Auto Find the program in the uninstall list and start the advanced uninstall process.

[CappinCanuck]

May 29, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Forest Bridge Animated Wallpaper (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forest-bridge-animated-wallpaper/)

This calming forest scene will add beauty to your desktop.

[CappinCanuck]

May 30, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - RSS Feed Creator (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/rss-feed-creator-2/)

RSS Feed Creator is a easy-to-use desktop RSS editor that allows you to create and maintain your own RSS newsfeeds and podcasts. RSS Feed Creator generates feeds using version 2.0 of the RSS standard and it is the best solution for WYSIWYG editing of RSS feeds and podcasts that does not require any basic knowledge of XML.

Besides, RSS Feed Creator can quickly convert HTML into RSS, supports uploading via FTP, works with graphics and exports using templates. With RSS Feed Creator, creating RSS feeds will become a pleasure!

[CappinCanuck]

May 31, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - iToolSoft PPT to Video (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/itoolsoft-ppt-to-video/)

iToolSoft PPT to Video Convert PPTs to video formats: AVI, H.264, WMV, MP4, MOV, etc. Convert PPTs to 1080p HD-formats: HD AVI, HD H.264, HD MPEG-2 TS. Play video presentations on iPod, iPhone, PSP, and BlackBerry. Added commentaries, it enables fast conversions without sound or effects.
Key features:

* Play PowerPoint videos on computer, multimedia devices and even on internet browsers
* Rehearse your presentation process first, so you have an idea how long the process would take
* Record your commentary and background music, playback the slides, and then convert the recording into video presentation
* Convert PowerPoint to video format: record, reserve all elements, remove effects
* Set slide playback time interval, add background music or sound effects for a personalized presentation video etc.

[CappinCanuck]

June 1, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - PDF OCR (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/pdf-ocr-ocr-pdf/#more-12629)

PDF OCR is based on OCR technology to convert scanned PDF paper books and documents into editable electronic text files fast and easily. PDF OCR has a build-in text editor which allows you to edit ocr result text without MS Word.

PDF OCR also supports batch mode to OCR all pages of pdf file to text at a time. PDF OCR has a Scanned Image To PDF Converter, which means you can create your own scanned PDF books.

[CappinCanuck]

June 2, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Paragon System Backup 9.5 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/paragon-system-backup-9-5-english/)

Simple, automatic and reliable backup solution for complete PC protection!

Now System Backup has two approaches:
Instant, auto backup. It is based on simplicity and minimal user participation … as easy as 1-2-3:

1. Download and install the software.
2. Follow the recommendations of the software – decide, where and when to back up.
3. Relax! Complete PC backups will run automatically.

and…
Customizable, seamless backup. Power users can create their own backup strategy:

1. Scheduling: fuzzy or precise.
2. Choose Snapshot type: auto, full or differential.
3. Choose volumes to backup.
4. Exclude unnecessary data from backup images.

Key Features and Benefits of System Backup:

* Intuitive user interface. System Backup is based on simplicity and minimal user participation.
* Advanced notification system. Color indicators in the system tray inform you about the level of danger your system and data are in and prompt you with ways to fix it.
* Set-and-forget backup strategy. Cyclic Backup establishes a self-running data protection system, providing a “set-and-forget” backup strategy.

[CappinCanuck]

June 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - USBCrypt
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/usb-crypt/)
USBCrypt is a powerful software encryption utility that you can use to password-protect your USB and other removable and fixed drives with strong AES encryption. The encrypted drives can be used with other computers that do not have USBCrypt software installed.

USBCrypt can protect any USB, flash, or thumb drive supported by Windows. The protected drives can be used to store any kind of files and documents: texts, spreadsheets, financial files, videos, MP3s, etc. The option to create a “spare key” file, to be used in case you forget your password, is also available.

[Arphahat]

June 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - USBCrypt
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/usb-crypt/)
USBCrypt is a powerful software encryption utility that you can use to password-protect your USB and other removable and fixed drives with strong AES encryption. The encrypted drives can be used with other computers that do not have USBCrypt software installed.

USBCrypt can protect any USB, flash, or thumb drive supported by Windows. The protected drives can be used to store any kind of files and documents: texts, spreadsheets, financial files, videos, MP3s, etc. The option to create a “spare key” file, to be used in case you forget your password, is also available.

I recommend TrueCrypt (http://www.truecrypt.org/) as a free option.

[CappinCanuck]

I recommend TrueCrypt (http://www.truecrypt.org/) as a free option.

Ditto, Truecrypt is by far better than anything else I've ever used.

[CappinCanuck]

June 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Picture Collage Maker (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/picture-collage-maker-2/)

Looking for an all-in-one photo collage software that’s fast and easy? Look no further. Picture Collage Maker is a powerful, versatile way to build any photo collage and scrapbook project-whether you’re just starting out or have been collaging for years.

You can also create your calendar, greeting card, invitation card, poster and more you can think of! Whether you see collaging as a relaxing pastime or a way of life, Picture Collage Maker can improve your efficiency, save you money and help you transform your priceless pictures into precious memories.

[CappinCanuck]

June 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Picture Collage Maker (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/picture-collage-maker-2/)

Looking for an all-in-one photo collage software that’s fast and easy? Look no further.

A funny hook line. The first think that came to mind was, "The day I am looking for an all-in-one photo collage software that's fast and easy, is the day I realize something terribly wrong has happened in my life."

[CappinCanuck]

June 5, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - ScreenCamera 2.1 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/screencamera-2-1/)

ScreenCamera is a virtual camera, a desktop recorder, and a webcam splitter.

ScreenCamera installs a camera on the system that can be used with Skype, UStream, and all video conference apps and websites.

ScreenCamera records the PC desktop and webcam in high definition so you can use it to quickly create high quality tutorials, and to record your video calls.

By connecting your webcam through ScreenCamera you will be able to use it on multiple applications simultaneously.

[CappinCanuck]

June 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - MKV Converter Studio 2.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/mkv-converter-studio-2-0/)

MKV Converter can convert Matroska Video (.mkv) to multiform video files with subtitles like AVI, WMV, DivX, MP4, H.264/AVC, XviD, MOV and MCE AVI, extract MP3, WAV, WMA, AAC or M4A music file from MKV video for enjoying on iPod, PSP, Apple TV, PS3, Xbox and other digital players, MKV Converter is also an MKV converter, splitter, editor and player. It changes the frame size, frame rate, video compression codec and audio compression codec.
Key Features at a Glance:

* You can load external subtitle file or embedded subtitle for the MKV video when converting;
* MKV converter supports convert MKV to all popular video formats like HD FLV, AVI, XviD, DivX, MP4, MPG, MPEG, 3GP, WMV, ASF, RM, RMVB, DAT, MOV, FLV, etc;
* Easily convert MKV videos and movies to play on iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, PSP, PS3, XBOX, Zune or other MP4 players with this MKV converter;
* Video editing function enables you to trim and crop videos easily before converting, you can shorten the video length by setting new start and end time; or adjust the aspect of video size, control the image brightness, contrast, saturation;

[CappinCanuck]

June 7, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - WinUtilities Pro 9.6 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/winutilities-9-66/)

WinUtilities Pro is an award winning collection of tools to optimize and speedup your system performance. This suite contains utilities to clean registry, temporary files on your disks, erase your application and internet browser history, cache and cookies.

It also supports to defragment your disk drives and improve computer performance and stability. Built-in StartUp Cleaner allows you to control startup programs that load automatically with windows, find duplicate files, fix broken shortcuts and uninstall unneeded software. Other features include secure file deletion, recycle bin shredding, system maintenance tasks scheduling and undelete deleted files.

[CappinCanuck]

June 8, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Ashampoo Photo Commander 7
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ashampoo-photo-commander-7/)
View, manage, organize and edit your digital media in one intuitive and powerful program. Ashampoo Photo Commander 7 is an all-in-one application for organizing, editing, sharing and presenting photo collections with additional audio and video playing and management capabilities.

All the photo editing tools you need are included. Enhance your images with the one-click optimizer. Remove the red-eye effect, adjust colors, contrast, hue and many other parameters, resize, crop, rotate, add a wide range of special effects.

After editing you can then use the integrated creativity tools to turn your photos into slide shows with music, web albums, photo collages, calendars and more.

[CappinCanuck]

June 9, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - All My Books (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/allmybooks/)

Organize your collection of paper books into an electronic library. Add books easily without typing full details: All My Books gets information about the book from the Internet automatically. Track loaners and locate every book in just seconds.

Organize your e-books as well. You can store link to the file in the book card and open it directly from All My Books. The program is able to automatically fill the book card for the following e-book formats: FB2, FB2.ZIP, LRF (Sony Reader), LIT, MOBI, PRC, PDB, EPUB.

Organize your audio books. You can start playback from the program in just one click. The book card is filled automatically for MP3, WMA, OGG formats.

[CappinCanuck]

June 10, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - DoubleSafety 4.5 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/doublesafety-4-5/)

DoubleSafety is a program for automatic data backup. With an effortless user interface, you can store backups on your hard drive or use a local area network, send them to an FTP server or write to a CD/DVD or Blu-Ray/HD-DVD. You can also automatically encrypt data using the 256-bit AES algorithm.
Benefits of using DoubleSafety:

* Thought-out interface
* Powerful and flexibly customizable scheduler
* Encrypting with the AES standard
* Uploading backups to an FTP server
* Writing backups to CD/DVD and Blu-Ray/HD-DVD
* Version control
* Incremental and differential backup
* Open files backup
* Available in the following languages: English, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian

[CappinCanuck]

June 11, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - RSS Wizard (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/rss-wizard-00/)

RSS Wizard is an HTML to RSS converter than can generate the RSS feed out of virtually any web page without having to edit it first. RSS Wizard generates RSS 2.0 feeds and allows you to create, edit and publish an unlimited number of RSS channels. The program has a great collection of features such as the built-in scheduler, autodetecting of RSS tags, command line support, XML editor and built-in FTP client.

The program has been especially developed to meet the needs of both novice and advanced users. Now the RSS Wizard features a built-in scheduler so that now it can function in a 100% automatic mode creating excellent RSS channels without any user assistance.

[CappinCanuck]

June 12, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - PCHand Media Converter Pro
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/pchand-media-converter-pro/#more-13001)
PCHand Media Converter Pro is an excellent combination of DVD Ripper, Video Converter and HD Video Converter. As a DVD Ripper, it could rip and convert lastest copy protected DVDs (99 titles) and backup the DVD movies on your PC, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Android phone, etc.

As a Video Converter, it helps to convert SD video and HD video to any other popular video formats, high definition videos included. Most popular portable devices supported, such as iPod, iPhone, iPad,Apple TV, PSP, PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Pocket PC, Blackberry, Mobile phones, Zune, Creative Zen, Archos and more multimedia devices.

[CappinCanuck]

June 13, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Easy Flyer Creator 2.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easyflyercreator/)

Easy Flyer Creator is easy to use desktop publishing software that help you to design, create and print flyers, brochures, leaflets, certificates, photo frames, tickets, door hangers from templates in just 5 minutes! You are provided with more then 100 Free Templates.

Easy Flyer Creator is the best way to create, print and share interactive flyers, brochures, leaflets and other marketing material: after making flyers you can Print and Share the Documents via FTP and Email.
Make Flyers in Just 3 Steps:

* Select the Template
* Update Images and Text in Template
* Preview and Print

[CappinCanuck]

June 14, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Video to Picture Converter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/video-to-picture-converter/)

Video to Picture Converter is capable of converting almost all frequently used video files to JPG, BMP, GIF, TGA, TIF, PCX, PNG and ICO image. With this versatile video to picture converter, you can effortlessly convert AVI, MPEG, WMV, DVD(VOB), Dvr-Ms RM, RMVB, etc to image formats. And, it also allows you to convert the above videos to animated gif image.

[CappinCanuck]

June 15, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Easy Watermarker (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easy-watermarker/)

Easy Watermarker helps you add visible transparent text and image watermarks to any picture to protect them from unauthorized distribution. The watermark can be any text such as copy right or company website or it can be any image you can create such as company logos.

Easy Watermarker gives you the freedom to place your watermark where ever you point the mouse on your image also to rotate your watermark image from 0 to 360 degrees. Easy Watermarker also has a built in screen shot function for grabbing active window, custom sized window or the entire screen.

[CappinCanuck]

June 16, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Flow
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/flow/)
Use Flow, the world’s fastest application launcher, to quickly and effortlessly access files, folders, websites and applications. Flow turns your keyboard into a launch pad for shortcuts. Activated by a shortcut combination (default ALT+Q), Flow displays a keyboard on your screen with shortcuts mapped to each key. Launching an application is then as simple as pressing the shortcut key you need, on your keyboard.

You configure the shortcuts yourself using fast and easy methods such as drag and drop, selecting from your “installed programs” list or browsing to a file/folder.

[CappinCanuck]

June 17, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - DAEMON Tools Pro Standard (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/daemon-tools-pro-standard/)

Back up your physical CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs into disc image files which run directly on your hard drive, flash drive or network. Organize image collections with an electronic catalog.

Create up to 16 virtual drives that act just like “real” physical ones to access images’ data quickly. Work with images created by other programs — DAEMON Tools supports variety of image types. It’s an essential toolkit for emulation and disc image making. Get yours!

[Handmade.Mercury]

Damn, I wanted Daemon Tools. I'll need to start watching this thread more closely.

[CappinCanuck]

June 18, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - NXPowerLite Desktop Edition (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/nxpowerlite-desktop-edition/)

NXPowerLite Desktop Edition optimizes your Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and JPEG images – reducing them to a fraction of their original size. Files remain in their original format and there’s no need to unzip before using them.

It’s incredibly easy to use, simply select a file, choose your compression level and click the ‘Optimize’ button. You can also optimize files from within Windows Explorer and Microsoft Office programs, or choose to automatically optimize email attachments as they are sent.

[CappinCanuck]

June 19, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Podcast Wizard
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/podcast-wizard-01/)
Podcast Wizard is an innovational product that turns creating podcasts into a surprisingly easy and pleasant task. It has never been easier to create, edit and publish podcasts. For your convenience, we split the process of creating a podcast into several steps and designed the program in the form of a New Podcast Wizard You can record voice, music or other sounds, mix audio, edit and process final tracks, create a RSS feed and publish a podcast on a server.

Podcast Wizard has a built-in FTP client and completely complies with the RSS 2.0 and iTunes specifications. Besides, you can save a final podcast in the MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG formats.

[CappinCanuck]

Back from my trip to BC, will update the thread up to now and regularly again going forward, once I've rested up a bit.

[CappinCanuck]

June 20, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe (World Cup 2010 Special Edition)
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/winx-hd-video-converter/)
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe fully meets video fans’ needs who are looking for website video downloader, HD video converter and DVD burner. The latest version of WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe is specially designed for football fans with iPhone 4 supported, offering a handy solution to download live video from World Cup 2010 live streaming website and video sharing sites like Youtube. Then convert to PC, iPad, iPhone, iPod, PSP or burn to DVD, just for personal collection. It allows users to convert among favorite HD and SD videos, such as AVCHD, M2TS, MKV, MOD, TOD, AVI, FLV, MOV, MP4, etc, as well as transfer video files to most popular portable devices.
Key features:

* It is the first HD video converter that supports converting Multi-track HD video BDAV, M2TS, MKV, and AVCHD, allowing you to choose any audio/video language track as you need.
* Convert between all popular video formats (SD videos and HD videos) such as AVCHD, MKV, MTS, MOD, TOD, AVI, MP4, MPEG, FLV, WMV, MOV, etc. Extract video from your HD camcorders. Make a digital copy of your Blu-ray video.
* Convert videos to both portable and console players, such as iPad, iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, PS3, PSP, Xbox, Zune, PDA, Blackberry, Nokia, Android, Zen, etc,.
* This program not only helps you convert videos but also create DVD folder and burn general videos to DVD Disc.
* Work as a versatile website video downloader and DVD burner. Let you freely download videos from YouTube, MySpace, Metacafe, Break, etc. You can also directly convert website videos or create DVDs with them. All above can be achieved by only several simple clicks.
* Supports multi-core CPU, offering you up to 5x‐8x real time converting speed.
* Automatically fix incorrect video data.

[CappinCanuck]

June 21, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - USB Stick Encryption (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/usb-stick-encryption/)

GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption is cost-effective encryption tool designed to password protect USB devices for storing vital data. Its 256-bit AES encryption allows you to achieve military-level security with easy and affordable solution. With GiliSoft USB Stick Encryption, you’ll never worry about losing your vital data stored on USB storage media.
Key features:

* Password Protection
* Compatible Everywhere
* Complete Security of your Data
* Reliable and Independent
* Peace of Mind
* User Friendly Interface

[CappinCanuck]

June 22, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Photo Frame Show (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/photo-frame-show/)

Add stylish frames to digital photos and enhance your online photo albums, projects, websites and more with remarkable ease! Choose from an extensive variety of frames, add them to your digital pictures and give them an impressive look.
Photo Frame Show’s major features:

* You can save your framed photos in popular formats for personal use or for your projects.
* The Online Gallery includes different categories, such as Classical, Shapes, Emotions, Occasions, Seasons, Sports, Locations, Music, Family and more!
* You can also snazz up your mobiles, t-shirts, cups and any other item you can think of – there is just no limits as to what you can do!

[CappinCanuck]

June 23, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Chameleon Startup Manager 3.2 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/chameleon-startup-manager-01/)

Chameleon Startup Manager can control programs that run at Windows startup, which makes Windows start faster and operate with increased stability. Programs can be run according to various functions including startup order change, startup delay, priority, consecutive program launch, day selection and much more. Configurations can be created and selected at Windows startup or applied ‘on-the-fly’ without restarting Windows. Chameleon Startup Manager provides real-time monitoring of programs added to the startup list.

[CappinCanuck]

June 24, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Web Page Maker
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/web-page-maker-0/)
Web Page Maker is an easy-to-use web page editor that allows you to create and upload web pages in minutes without knowing HTML. Simply drag and drop objects onto the page and position them freely in the layout. It comes with some pre-designed templates that help you to get started.

It also includes ready-to-use navigation bars that can be inserted into the page. Additional features include built-in color picker, Java script library, image library and built-in FTP client.

[CappinCanuck]

June 25, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Astroburn Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/astroburn-pro/)

Handy tool for burning and mastering CD, DVD and Blu-ray media. Perform burning, copying, erasing operations with all types of optical storage media.

Easily grab original discs to create image files and save them on your hard drive or compile disc images with data or audio projects. Create CDs and DVDs with just a few mouse clicks. It’s easy to learn and to use.

[CappinCanuck]

June 26, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Uconomix Encryption Engine 1.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/uconomix-encryption-engine-1-0/)

Uconomix Encryption Engine is a powerful file encryption software. It allows you to protect the privacy of your sensitive files and folders by encrypting them with strong encryption algorithm and a password.

Uconomix Encryption Engine can batch encrypt multiple files and folders. UEE can encrypt any and all types of files like Word, PDF, Excel, PPT, images, MP3, AVI and more. It Supports English, German, Spanish, French and Italian languages.

[CappinCanuck]

June 27, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Classic Start Menu
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/classic-start-menu/)
Are you missing the Classic Start Menu in Windows 7? If so, you are not alone. We have developed this Classic Start Menu for you, and now you can easily change the unusable menu of Windows 7 to the well known classic start menu with Aero skin. Actually, you can use other skins too, not just the Aero one. Yet, with Aero, you make the Classic Start Menu look like a real part of Windows 7.
Unique features:

* One-click launch helps you run programs faster.
* Use Classic Start menu as a starting point. You can add any folders to the menu, including special system folders, drives, or shortcuts, and get access to any point of your PC with few clicks from one single place.
* Power button timers. Now you don’t need to wait for when a long process will be completed. All you need is to turn on the timer and Classic Start Menu will turn off or reboot PC for you.
* Aero Skin and others help you to change the look of the menu.
* Quick un-install feature allows you to uninstall any program with a right-click, even if the program doesn’t come with an uninstall shortcut in menu.

You will realize the power of the new Classic Start Menu as soon as you try it out.

[CappinCanuck]

June 28, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Clone Terminator 3.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/clone-terminator-01/)

Clone Terminator is an easy-to-use program designed to clean your computer from duplicate files. With the help of Clone Terminator, you can easily scan your drives for identical files and delete those of them that you never use. It will increase space on your drives and improve total system performance.

Clone Terminator uses an innovative algorithm that makes scanning extremely fast and reliable, ensuring 100% accuracy.

[CappinCanuck]

June 29, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Wondershare DemoCreator 3
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/wondershare-democreator-3/)
Wondershare DemoCreator is a powerful yet simple screen recorder for Windows which allows you to capture desktop activities and create a voice-over presentation with compelling Flash animation effect without any programming skills.

Besides the customized recording mode and plenty of video editing features, DemoCreator 3 is released with new Office 2007 GUI & more enhanced features which can help even novices to create their professional looking demo videos at ease.
Key features:

* Record the onscreen activities in flexible modes and capture any area of computer screen
* Build your video demo with narration, delicate objects and dazzling Flash animations
* Publish in up to 7 comprehensive video formats for widespread sharing

[CappinCanuck]

June 30, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - MAXA Security Tools (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/maxa-security-tools/)

The confidentiality of sensitive data is threatened by lost USB sticks, online backup, plain text emails or industrial espionage and requires specialized solutions.

MAXA Security Tools is a package containing multiple effective tools, like:

* MAXA Crypt: Allows 256 bit-strong state of the art encryption and decryption of texts or files and directories into one encrypted file.
* Steganography: Hide files into JPEG images and WAVE audio files. These container files will remain unsuspicious.
* File Manipulator: Change file preferences such as date of creation and size and securely erase files so that they cannot be recovered any more.
* Evidence Remover: Remove traces of visited websites, opened documents, and similar by one mouse click.
* Document Cleaner: Clear sensitive information out of Word documents before you distribute them.
* SecureEdit: Create documents containing formatted text and images that can be redistributed in an encrypted executable container file.
* MAXA-Lock: Lock you computer when you are away from it, ensure you are still protected against unauthorized access with email, Skype or SMS alarm notifications.

[CappinCanuck]

July 1, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Ashampoo Home Designer (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ashampoo-home-designer/)

See your future home or renovations in 3D, before spending any money on expensive services and materials.

Ashampoo Home Designer is a professional-quality 3D home planning tool for everyone. It lets you experiment as much as you like with what fits and how it looks before spending a single cent on materials or services. The ability to look at the planned rooms outside and inside from every perspective helps to avoid expensive mistakes – it’s like being there, and it’s completely different from looking at pencil sketches on graph paper.

Finding out what doesn’t work and what looks good doesn’t cost anything and you can try out as many different ideas as you want for as long as you want.

[CappinCanuck]

July 2, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - iCare Data Recovery 3.8 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/icare-data-recovery-3-8/)

Data loss won’t be your headache! As a comprehensive data recovery solution, iCare Data Recovery can easily recover files from wrong formatted drives, unexpectedly file deletion, raw drive or raw filesystem, virus attack, partition deleted, software crash etc.

It can recover any deleted files like photos, documents, mp3, outlook file, presentations, and it also works with any type of storage media like hard drive, removable hard drive, digital cameral sd card, usb drives, ipod, memory card etc.
It provides four recovery wizards:

* “Partition Recovery” to recover deleted partitions;
* “Deleted File Recovery” to recover accidentally deleted files, files in inaccessible partitions, RAW file system file recovery, boot sector damaged, mbr corrupted;
* “Deep Scan Recovery” to have a full scan of lost and existing files and find files as much as possible;
* “Format Recovery” to recover files from formatted hard disk, external disk, flash drive, sd card etc.

[CappinCanuck]

July 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Forest Life 3D Screensaver (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forest-life-3d-screensaver/)

Let your screen take you away to a quiet place in the forest. Watch the little peaceful bugs and ants running about their business. A funny little spider making a web. Dew drops on the leaves. Birds twittering somewhere in the branches above.

This screensaver will immerse you into the peaceful environment of the forest life that will make you forget about all your problems!

[CappinCanuck]

July 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Aiseesoft Total Video Converter
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aiseesoft-total-video-converter/)
Aiseesoft Total Video Converter is created to help you convert any video to MP4/MKV/WMV/AVI and other popular formats. This Total Video Converter supports almost all popular portable devices such as PSP, iPod, iPhone, PS3, Zune, Creative Zen, Blackberry, Mobile Phone, iRiver, Walkman, Pocket PC etc.

Aiseesoft Total Video Converter also possesses powerful editing functions like trim, merge, effect, crop and edit watermark for you to recreate your source video. For you to get the exact file for your players, you can set the specific video/audio parameters for the output file.

[CappinCanuck]

July 5, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - EASEUS Partition Master Professional Edition 6.0.1 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/easeus-partition-master-pro-601/)

EASEUS Partition Master Professional Edition is an ALL-IN-ONE partition solution and disk management utility. It allows you to extend partition, especially for system drive, settle low disk space problem, manage disk space easily on MBR and GUID partition table (GPT) disk under Windows 2000/ XP/ Vista/ Windows 7 (both x32 and x64).

The most popular hard disk management functions are brought together with powerful data protection including: Partition Manager, Disk & Partition Copy Wizard and Partition Recovery Wizard. Moreover, you can create bootable CD/DVD in case of system boot failure.
Top Benefits:

* New! Support GPT volumes – GPT disk partitioning, GPT disk copy, disaster recovery, etc.
* Convert dynamic disk to basic disk easily with all data protected.
* Extend system partition to maximize computer performance.
* Partition Manager utility for better hard disk management and computer performance maximization.
* Copy Wizard to copy partition or migrate entire hard disk to another without Windows system reinstallation.
* Partition Recovery Wizard to perform PC disaster recovery to save data.

[CappinCanuck]

July 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AV Music Morpher 4.0
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/av-music-morpher-4-0/)
This is music gear that is convenient and versatile, yet cost-effective for music lovers. It is a resourceful multi-channel music mixer that enables you to edit any number of channels for surround sounds. It has been improved with a multi-track editor and more cool music effects. The interactive funny space helps you enjoy special collections of funny sounds, ringtones, audio clips, etc. without using any browser.
Key features:

* You can get more audio formats. Music Morpher supports most popular audio formats to make converting effortless. Now convert WAV to MP3, MP3 to WAV, etc. and make a song suitable for any portable device
* Make a Beautiful Duet from a Solo Song. Music Morpher helps you generate different singing voices from the same artist
* Make Your Songs More Musical. You can create a “chasing” voice for a more sentimental sound, or to add depth. Lots of other music effects are ready for you to make your songs sound sensational
* Make Your Own CD. You can record your voice while singing along with a song, then burn it to CDs and then create your own, personalized CD covers and labels, etc
* Create Your Own Ringtones from Your Favorite Songs. Music Morpher allows you to create unique ringtones for you cellphone. Cut out any music clip you love and then set it as your ringtone

[CappinCanuck]

July 7, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Registry Repair Pro (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/registry-repair-pro/)

Make your PC run faster! Registry Repair Pro repairs invalid information, obsolete entries, and corrupt files in your computer’s registry to increase the speed and stability of your computer. Powerful and easy-to-use, Registry Repair Pro is a safe and effective program that’s been trusted by millions to improve their PC’s performance.

[CappinCanuck]

July 8, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - MagicScore Note 7 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/magicscore-note-7/)

MagicScore Note is wonderful music notation and music writing software, offering the most advanced capabilities for music schools, students, teachers and music lovers.
What’s new in MagicScore Note 7:

* New MagicScore Music Engine V.
* Sound fonts sf2 usage is implemented for high quality playback.
* 1/128 duration.
* Auto-calculation of measures’ duration to its notes, when the Time Signature of a composition is not set.
* Formation of notes was changed. Now MagicScore School 6 provides a new level of music score quality.
* The Liga addition was changed by splitting to Slur or Tie.
* Now you can change left and right margins for every page automatically. This option is very useful for music book and brochure creation.
* Time Signature placement in the middle and the end of a measure.
* Empty staves auto-hide option for the MIDI file import function.
* A tremolo width and rotation changing option.
* Notes beam movement.
* Systems interval changed.
* Triplet styles were added.
* Beam number of notes management.
* Tools panels’ rotation to the vertical position.
* Split point on recording for two hands.
* Using the Key Signature of the composition in Grace notes.
* Offset properties for Key Signature, Clef, etc..

[CappinCanuck]

July 9, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Tabbles Home (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/tabbles-home/)

No matter how organized you are with your files, at some point you must have faced the problem “should I put this file in this one folder or in that other folder?”…”and will I remember where the file is if I put it in this folder?”…”or should I just make a copy?”. With Tabbles all of that is gone!

Tabbles allows you to categorize your files/folders by placing them in as many tabbles (tag-bubbles) as you like and then find them back by remembering what that file was about and “combining” the tabbles (tabble = concept) that make you think of that file, in a natural and dynamical way. Your files and folders will NOT be moved, duplicated or messed up with. For example, using Tabbles you can find all the “Pictures” where you can see your “Children” in the “Mountains” with 4 CLICKS!
Key Features:

* A tabble (the colored bubbles) is a TAG and a VIRTUAL FOLDER at the same time: you can drag’n'drop files into it (as a folder) and browse it as a tag later on.
* The same file can go into several tabbles WITHOUT BEING DUPLICATED on your hard drive.
* The COMBINE is the key: i.e. click on the tabbles “Bills” and “2007″ and then use the ‘Combine’ function to see all the files tagged with “Bills” and “2007″.
* Auto-tagging rules: Tabbles will auto-tag files/folders based on name and/or location.
* You can tag also websites or use the shell-extensions for easier tagging/finding.
* You can categorize up to 10000 files with this version

The Good
* Terrific, aesthetically pleasing interface and animations.
* Users can add multiple tags to one file/folder/URL.
* Users can create rules for quick/auto-tagging.
* Tags can be customized by color.
* Powerful filtering/sorting capability.
* Familiar Windows Explorer-like interface allows for easy browsing and tagging of files and folders.
* Adds entry into right-click context menu for quick tagging capabilities.

The Bad
* Does not keep track of tags for files and folders if you move them via Windows Explorer (does keep track if you move them via Tabbles).
* Home edition does not allow for export/import of tabbles.
* Requires .NET Framework 4.
* A bit RAM intensive.

Free Alternatives
Tag2Find
Tabbles Free [Fully featured but limited to 1,000 files]

[CappinCanuck]

July 10, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 3D Box Maker (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/3d-box-maker/)

3D Box Maker is a virtual packaging design tool. It creates 3D software box shot, vista boxes, ebook covers, CD covers, books, electronic magazines covers and more.

It allows you to create high quality web and printable realistic graphics with just a few clicks. Need not professional graphic designer and expensive graphic software!

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Users can either use pre-designed templates or create custom designs from scratch.
* Users can insert multiple different objects into designs, including boxes, CDs, books, and 3D text.
* Each object can be customized (look, size, rotation, etc.)
* The environment of the design (background, floor, camera, light, etc.) can be customized.
* Has a built-in basic image editor that users can take advantage of.
* Supports import of .3ds models.

The Bad
* Cannot export designs as GIF (JPEG, BMP, and PNG supported only).
* Cannot change the font of the 3D text.
* Interface is an eye sore – could do with an overhaul.

Free Alternatives
3D Box Shot Maker
BoxMaker Classic
Virtual Hardbox Designer

[CappinCanuck]

July 11, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - LeKuSoft Blu-ray Ripper 5.50 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/lekusoft-blu-ray-ripper-5-50/)

LeKuSoft Blu-ray Ripper is the best solution for you to rip Blu ray movies and DVD to all Video and Audio formats with high definition and conversion rate. It’s capable of ripping blu ray disks and common DVD to FLV, AVI, SWF, MOV, iPod, iPhone, PSP, MP4, RM, WMV, ASF, 3GP, 3GPP2, etc., and extracting AAC, AC3, MP3, WAV, WMA, RA, M4A, OGG, etc.

With LeKuSoft Blu-ray Ripper you can play Blu-ray videos and DVD on your multimedia devices in true HD quality, turn your iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune, Apple TV or any other multimedia device into a Blu-ray movie theater. You can set video and audio parameters, create your own output profiles for future use, save time and effort by converting quickly, effectively and efficiently.
Key features:

* Decrypt blu-ray discs, and common DVDs including not only DVD9, DVD5 but also DVD10 and DVD18
* Supports iPod, iPhone, PSP, PS3, Xbox, GPhone, Apple TV, mobile phones, PMP and others
* Support the output MKV formats
* Clip any segment from a movie
* Customize video and audio settings such as Bit rate, Video Zoom, Audio Sample Rate, Channels and Volume
* Exit Program, Shut down, Hibernate and Stand by, after converting is done

[CappinCanuck]

July 12, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - InPaint 2.4
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/inpaint-2-4/)
Inpaint reconstructs the selected image area from the pixel near the area boundary. Inpaint may be used to remove undesirable objects from still images.

Delete any unwanted object from your photo, such as extra power-line, people, text… The program will automatically inpaint the selected area to erase it.

If some unexpected object spoils an otherwise good photograph, Inpaint may be used to remove it. Simply select the object. No need for fiddly messing about with the clone tool!

It is alarmingly simple to use. Draw a selection around the object you wish to remove from the picture, and run smart remove selection. Inpaint will fill the selection area with intelligently generated texture drawn from the surrounding image data.

[CappinCanuck]

July 12, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - InPaint 2.4
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/inpaint-2-4/)


I love this software btw. I have used it to clean up photos, wallpapers and other things regularly. It works fairly well and rarely needs any thing more than dragging a box around the offending subject.

[CappinCanuck]

July 13, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Cute Reminder Standard Edition
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/cute-reminder-standard/)
Create desktop sticky notes, set up non-annoying reminders, and manage your ideas with just one or two mouse clicks.

Cute Reminder software supports schedule, recurrent reminders, individually colorable skins, audio files in various formats (mp3, wma), quick search and easy arrangement of sticky notes on your desktop, linking files and Web pages to reminders, archiving of notes and reminders into history, printing, and more.
Be more organized, creative and successful with Cute Reminder:

* Stay synchronized and instantly make new reminders for your appointments, important events and deadlines. You will be gently reminded but not distracted from your current work.
* Remain focused on the job being done. Do not get confused when interrupted while working on important things. The rapid and simple operation of Cute Reminder will keep your mind focused.
* Expand your brain and free your head from the clutter of daily incoming information without losing any important piece of it. Stick desktop notes with only one mouse click.
* Be creative by managing your ideas. Get inspired by your own creativity and discover how smart you really are with the help of our software. Manage your ideas as easily as with desktop sticky notes and enjoy finding hidden treasures in yourself.

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Allows users to create “notes”, “ideas”, and “reminders”.
* Has a “quick access” panel for easy and quick access to create notes, ideas, and reminders.
* Users can specify word-specific audio sounds to play when reminder is set to show, or use a default sound for all reminders.
* Has a built-in calendar/schedule that incorporates with reminders.
* Has the ability to trace the “history” of individual reminders.
* Users can customize the color of notes, ideas, and reminders.
* Reminders can have files linked to them.
* Has a built-in search function to search for specific text in notes/ideas/reminders.
* Allows users to print notes/ideas/reminders.

The Bad
* Notes, ideas, and reminders only support plain text: No images, lists, text formatting, etc.
* Lacks the ability to use hotkeys to create notes, ideas, and reminders.
* Users have no ability to get rid of the quick access panel (such as minimize it to the system tray) if they find it annoying or bothersome.
* Has no feature to share notes/ideas/reminders with others, such as exporting or syncing capabilities.
* Users can’t show/hide individual notes (can show/hide them all, though).

Free Alternatives
Stickies
Note Mania

[CappinCanuck]

July 14, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Spotmau Privacy Kit (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/spotmau-privacy-kit/)

Privacy Kit cleans up all the tracks of your Internet and computer activities, wipes out the secret data permanently that no one in the world can recover it, hides and encrypts your sensitive data, locks up applications so only you can use it.

It can even build a “Personal Safe” on your computer to store your most sensitive data. It is invisible and unbreakable to others. No more worries about your private data will be leaked!

[CappinCanuck]

July 15, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Paragon Partition Manager 11SE Personal (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/paragon-partition-manager-11se-personal/)

Get the original! Paragon Software’s advanced partitioning tools help you completely control and manage your hard disks!

With growing hard drive capacity, the need to reasonably split up the space is more important than ever. This easy-to-use partitioning tool is ideal for re-structuring your hard disk for optimal and effective data storage.

Key Features and Benefits
* Create, Format, Delete Partition. You can create, format, delete a partition of any popular file system.
* Express Create Partition. Create a new partition in the most appropriate place of a hard disk, format it to NTFS and then make it available in the system.
* Move/Resize Partitions. You can resize and/or move partitions on a hard disk.
* Express Resize Partition. Increase free space on one partition by utilizing the unused space of an adjacent partition (including partitions of Apple Boot Camp).

The Good
* Fairly easy to use – simple on-screen wizards to guide you through each task.
* Can create, expand, resize, merge, delete, undelete, copy, hide, unhide, rename (label and letter), and defrag partitions.
* Supports Windows (FAT16, FAT32, NTFS), Linux (EXT2, EXT3, EXT4, ReiserFS) and Mac (HFS+) file system formats for partitions.
* Can copy a whole hard drive to another.
* Has error checking utilities.
* Allows users to perform image backups/restores.
o Can do selective restores and “restore partition with resize”.
* Can create recovery media on CD/DVD/USB flash drive.
* Has handy MBR related features.
* Allows users to view partition contents of any file system while in Windows.

The Bad
* Doesn’t support WinPE bootable media (Linux-based only supported).
* When formatting a partition, if partition size is small seeing which partition you have selected is difficult.
* Image backup/restore features are a bit too basic.
* Image backup size estimate is inconsistent and inaccurate.
* You can’t copy a partition into an existing partition.

Free Alternatives
Paragon Partition Manager Free Edition
Partition Wizard
EASEUS Partition Manager Home Edition

[CappinCanuck]

July 16, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Registry Defrag 6.0
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/registry-defrag-60/)
Keeping the registry as compact as possible means better computer performance. Auslogics Registry Defrag is fast becoming an essential tool in keeping your registry defragmented. As a result, the Registry becomes compact and small, greatly improving your computer performance.
Key benefits:

* Eliminates structural defects in the Registry;
* Reduces the Registry size and the amount of RAM the registry takes up;
* Improves applications response time;
* Makes Windows running more stable;
* Improves overall computer performance.

The Good
* Straightforward and very easy to use.
* Allows users to perform analysis of registry before deciding if they want or need to defrag it.
* Users have the option to reboot computer immediately and defrag registry, or schedule a defrag to occur next time the computer is rebooted.
* Has the option to automatically create System Restore points before registry is defragged.
* Provides users with a detailed report after defragmentation has been finished.

The Bad
* Nothing is really “wrong” with the program itself, as far as I can tell.

Free Alternatives
WinUtilities Professional Edition (has a registry defrag component)

[CappinCanuck]

July 17, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Daniusoft DVD Creator (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/daniusoft-dvd-creator/)

Burn your precious videos to DVD with amazing DVD menu and share them with your friends and family.

Daniusoft DVD Creator offers you the easiest and fastest way to burn videos like AVI, WMV, MP4, MKV, MOV, FLV, ASF, MOD, VOB, MPEG to DVD for playback on various DVD players or backup them as ISO files or DVD folder. And HD videos are also supported like AVCHD video (MTS/M2TS), TS, TRP, HD MOV. In addition, you can create customized DVD menu with free preset templates, name DVD as you like, create chapters for videos to skip playback and even customize the thumbnail.
Create your own stylish DVD with Daniusoft DVD Creator:

* Burn any video like AVI, WMV, MP4, MOV, MPEG, VOB, FLV to DVD
* Support HD videos, including MTS, M2TS, TS, TRP, H.264, etc.
* Backup videos as ISO files or DVD folder
* Provide a variety of free DVD menu templates to make DVD menu
* Create customized DVD menu by adding background picture & music
* Create DVD chapter and title thumbnail to skip playback conveniently
* Easy to use, only a few click to complete the DVD authoring

[CappinCanuck]

July 18, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AllMedia Grabber 5.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/allmedia-grabber-5-0/)

Thousands Pictures, Videos, Music, Sounds hidden inside programs / files on your computer with AllMedia Grabber. AllMedia Grabber searches in files (executables, libraries, custom controls, data files e.t.c.) and extracts multimedia files.
Features:

* Extract files stored in executables, libraries, custom controls, Microsoft Office files, datdbases, raw or binary files (like exe, dll, ocx, doc, ppt, xls, pdf, mdb, raw, bin, hex…) – Select File(s), Folders, Drives to scan.
* Integration into Windows shell (Quick extraction from context menu).
* Can convert all graphics formats to BMP, ICO.
* Browse all extracted graphic files in thumbnail mode.
* View graphic files with program viewer.
* Delete, rename, delete all extracted files, copy to clipboard, set as wallpaper.
* Language support: currently AllMedia Grabber has been translated English, Deutsch, French, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Portugues Br, Greek).

[CappinCanuck]

July 19, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Simpo PDF Password Remover (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/simpo-pdf-password-remover/)

Simpo PDF Password Remover is an excellent application to remove PDF Password. With this tool, you can easily remove the user and owner password and restrictions of printing, copying and editing from PDF.

To remove PDF user password, you need to correctly enter the password first to unlock the PDF file. And it allows you to reset password to secure your output PDF with stronger 128bit RC4 and AES encryption, at the same time, you could modify metadata of output PDF files. Support Adobe PDF 1.0-1.7 format.

[CappinCanuck]

July 20, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Aneesoft Flash Gallery Classic 2.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aneesoft-flash-gallery-classic-2-0/)

Aneesoft Flash Gallery Classic 2.0 is a simple yet powerful flash gallery making software that helps you bring your digital photos to life and express your creativity in an ultimate way. This is very useful tool for everybody to create a Flash photo gallery for sharing on website, Blogger, MySpace, Facebook, etc. No Flash skills needed.
Whip up a flash photo gallery in just three easy steps:

Step 1: Add digital photos and sort them into the desired order. You can adjust photos with handy editing tools.
Step 2: Choose a Flash gallery template and add appropriate background music to enhance the show.
Step 3: Publish flash gallery as SWF, HTML or EXE file, or make a windows screensaver

Voila! Your creation is ready for your audience. Just embed your flash gallery to your preferred website or blog and share it with your friends or family.

[CappinCanuck]

July 21, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Genie Timeline Home 2.1
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/genie-timeline-home-2-1/)
Genie Timeline Home 2.1 is a simple, innovative solution for Windows users that will revolutionize the way people handle backup. The purpose of Genie Timeline 2.1 is to offer all Windows users a simple and easy, automated, powerful solution to perform continuous data protection. With just three simple steps you are able to set up an automated, seamless backup.
Prominent features of the software include:

* Zero maintenance, zero scheduling, zero performance impact
* Disaster Recovery: You are also given the option to create a bootable startup disk
* Now supports iPhone/iPad/iPod and Blackberry phone backups
* Versions: Backups are kept for the past 4 hours, hourly backups for the past 48 hours, daily backups for the past week, and weekly backups onwards
* It runs in different performance modes: Turbo mode, Smart mode, Game/Movie mode, and Power Saving mode

Simply, Genie Timeline 2.1 is the solution to keep users protected at all times with the ability to go back in time to view and restore files as they existed in the past.

[CappinCanuck]

July 22, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - FLV Mate 1.3 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/flv-mate-1-3/)

FLV Mate is high quality video encoder and player for the web. Convert almost any video to Flash and create a web video player for your web site, blog or forum. It is an easy to use, wizard-like application that allows you to publish any video online in few easy steps. Publish marketing promotions, video advertisements, software demonstrations, tutorial videos, screencasts, video blog posts and more.

FLV Mate includes high quality royalty-free web video player compatible with Flash 8.0 (or later version) and supports Amazon S3 for video hosting and steaming.

[CappinCanuck]

July 23, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - BurnPro 5.1.1 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/burnpro/)

BurnPro is a burning application tool to simplify your burning needs. From now on, it’s really easy to burn Audio CD, Data CD/DVD’s, create Video DVD’s (S)Video CD’s, create and burn disc images, and more! It gives easy access to all functionality with a simple menu system, so you don’t get lost. Just click, add files and burn!
Key features:

* Burn and update data discs: Burn data to discs and update previously burned discs by adding and removing files and folders
* Rip and burn music: Rip music from CDs and burn music to audio CDs and MP3 discs on CD, DVD and Blu-ray in a variety of formats
* Burn movies to DVDs and data discs: In addition to the new slideshow DVDs you can burn video DVDs, Video CDs (VCD), Super Video CDs (SVCD) and data video discs
* Copy CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs: Just insert a disc, select Copy to image/ Burn disc from image and you’re ready to copy

[CappinCanuck]

July 24, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Aimersoft Video Converter 4.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/aimersoft-video-converter-4-0/)

Aimersoft Video Converter is the most easy to use video converter to convert video & audio, between all popular media formats, including HD for portables (such as iPhone, iPad, iPod, Blackberry, PSP, Nokia, etc). Meanwhile, this video converter offers convenient ready-made format presets for output files and -video edit function, which enables you made your unique videos!
Key features:

* Convert all standard and high definition videos
* Extract audio from videos as MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, M4A, etc.
* Powerful video editing function: trim, crop and custom effects options
* Capture snapshots from video to save as wallpaper
* Support various portables like iPad, iPod, iPhone, Android Phone, etc.
* Support Batch conversion
* Merge multiple files into one

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Does audio conversions (in addition to the video converting features).
* Supports many input and output video formats.
* Has many predefined output “profiles” for electronic gadgets, such as the mobile phones, the PSP, and the XBox 360.
* Can rip audio from videos.
* Allows users to do some basic video editing, such as crop, trim, add watermark, add effect, and add subtitles.
* Supports batch processing.
* Supports drag + drop.
* Users can merge videos together.
* Allows users to automatically shutdown the computer after conversion.
* Supports DirectShow files.

The Bad
* Does not support .SWF as input.

Free Alternatives
iWisoft Video Converter
FormatFactory

[CappinCanuck]

July 25, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 3D Formula 1 Screensaver (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/3d-formula-1-screensaver/)

This extremely realistic F1 Racing 3D Screensaver is a real treat for all the people who like speed and fast cars. The most skillful F1 drivers will battle each other for the Grand Prix on your desktop.

The graphics, animation, sound effects and music are absolutely outstanding! It’s just like watching a TV broadcast but it really is an awesome screensaver that you can put on your monitor. See the world’s best racing action on your own desktop!

[CappinCanuck]

July 26, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Flash-Creator 1.0
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/flash-creator-1-0/)
Flash Creator Flash Creator is a quick and refreshingly easy-to-use tool for creating animated Flash logos, banners, intros, headers and anything else that you can imagine right out of the box.

It provides you with a point-and-click design environment that allows anyone, regardless of creative ability and knowledge of Flash technologies, blend texts, vector objects and images into an engaging Flash animation that can give a professional look to your website.

[CappinCanuck]

July 27, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Image Converter Plus
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/image-converter-plus/)
Image Converter Plus is software for everyday image conversion into various graphics formats, image resizing and image processing. Profile settings allow Image Converter Plus to do its job in a correct and effective manner with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Image Converter Plus greatly reduces the time it takes to convert and resize images, and what’s more, it allows converting images without any flaws. Image quality is not degraded during the conversion process!

[CappinCanuck]

July 28, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Total Screen Recorder Gold 1.5 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/total-screen-recorder-gold-1-5/)

Screen Recorder can record computer desktop screen to video files so you can upload them to Youtube.com, myspace, blog without format converters or editors.

It supports video recording with sound from computer sound card or from microphone. You can also set your record region and record any area of your desktop. Total Screen Recorder can be used to record webcam chat video from AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger and other IM clients, make your own video tutorial, etc.
Key features:

* Support 5 capture types: random region, window, full screen, fixed size, fixed region
* Support recording audio sync from computer and microphone
* Video/Audio codec parameter adjustable
* Support user defined hotkey to start or stop recording quickly
* Support stop timer to stop recording automatically
* Support user defined file name format support
* Support hide when recording, window can be minimized to icon in system tray

[CappinCanuck]

July 29, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Driver Magician 3.5 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-3-5/)

Driver Magician offers a professional solution for device drivers backup, restoration, update and removal in Windows operating system. It identifies all the hardware in the system, extracts their associated drivers from the hard disk and backs them up to a location of your choice. Then when you format and reinstall/upgrade your operating system, you can restore all the “saved” drivers just as if you had the original driver diskettes in your hands. After one system reboot, your PC will be loaded and running with the required hardware drivers.

What’s more, Driver Magician has a built in database of the latest drivers with the ability to go to the Internet to receive the driver updates. It saves lots of time to find the correct drivers and mature drivers will obviously increase the performance of hardware. If there are unknown devices in your PC, Driver Magician helps you detect them easily and quickly with its built in hardware identifier database.
Key features:

* Back up device drivers of your computer in four modes
* Restore device drivers from backup in one mouse click
* Update device drivers of your PC to improve system performance and stability
* Uninstall device drivers
* Live Update device identifier database and driver update database
* Detect unknown devices
* Get detailed information of the hardware drivers
* Clone all drivers to an auto-setup package (.EXE), so you can restore drivers without installing Driver Magician

[CappinCanuck]

July 30, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Artensoft Photo Mosaic Wizard
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/artensoft-photo-mosaic-wizard/)
Artensoft Photo Mosaic Wizard builds perfect photo mosaics out of your own images in just seconds. Make your own photo mosaics in five easy steps!

The innovative photographic mosaic software will guide you through the process of creating true mosaics out of ordinary photographs. Have great fun with friends and family, produce perfect photo gifts, and make unique posters in five easy steps!

[CappinCanuck]

July 31, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - BookRoom 1.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/bookroom-1-0/)

BookRoom is a realistic, beautiful, downloadable desktop environment that allows you to read eBooks on Windows system. Take advantage of a growing number of e-Books while enjoying the convenience and features of BookRoom.
Main features:

* Natural user interface
* Customizable desktop
* Library Management
* Supports a large variety of formats, such as epub, htm, chm, rtf and txt
* Supports multiple Bookmarks
* Supports Add Text highlight and Annotations
* Singe Key Page Turning
* Remember your last reading

[CappinCanuck]

July 31, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - BookRoom 1.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/bookroom-1-0/)



I don't recommend picking this up to anyone interested in E-reading.

What you want is:


Calibre – http://calibre-ebook.com
-syncronize with a reader device
-can convert from and to most e-book formats
-excellent library

MartView – http://www.martview.com
-Supports only PDF and it’s own Mart format
-better reading quality

[CappinCanuck]

August 1, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Absolute Audio Converter (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/absolute-audio-converter/)

Absolute Audio Converter – fast and easy-to-use WMA OGG MP3 converter. Absolute Audio Converter is digital audio converter with Windows Explorer-like interface, allowing you to convert audio files of WMA, MP3, OGG Vorbis, WAV PCM format to all these formats including resampling.
Key features:

* Fast and easy-to-use Audio Converter
* Handy User’s Interface
* Batch Conversion Support
* Fast Conversion Speed
* Best Audio Codecs Support

[CappinCanuck]

August 2, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Simple Money Manager Standard (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/simple-money-manager-standard/)

Simple Money Manager is easy to use, feature rich application to manage your finances. You will see right away on the pie chart and graphs where your money is going, quickly find needed transaction through the smart search.

The program lets you import your bank or credit card transactions from almost any financial format or quickly enter them through simple intuitive interface. Simple Money Manager works fine on any screen including small netbooks, and speaks 21 language.

[CappinCanuck]

August 3, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - 1AVStreamer (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/1avstreamer/)

1AVStreamer is an easy solution for live video and audio broadcast over the web. Unlike most broadcast programs 1AVStreamer takes away the hassle of setting it up. 1AVStreamer supports all video and audio sources on the PC, including the PC desktop, and it has the ability to broadcast audio alone from any source as well.

On the other end 1AVStreamer also makes it easy to publish your live audio video content on your blog or website. You can let 1AVStreamer upload a ready-to-be-visited webpage to your website, or you can copy a HTML script and paste it on your webpage. 1AVStreamer can break broadcasts in time intervals, and it can run completely hidden from the PC user in stealth mode.

1AVStreamer supports all types of Internet connections. Broadcasting encoders are fully configurable, and copies of the broadcasts can be kept on the hard drive. Video output can range from low to high definition.

[CappinCanuck]

August 4, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Nexus Ultimate
(http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/nexus-ultimate/)
Nexus Ultimate is a Windows dock application that provides fast access to your most frequently used applications, with flexible options allowing it to dock or float anywhere on the screen.

Nexus Ultimate is one of the most attractive, powerful and flexible docks available today, boasting just about every feature you’d expect from a dock and much more: widgets, mouse-over effects, skins, drag-and-drop, and even live icon reflections, background blur, system tray and tasklist support, etc. Completely customizable, Nexus Ultimate has thousands of backgrounds freely available online and is fully compatible with backgrounds for all 3rd party docks.

Note that this version allows the following upgrades inside:

* to Winstep Xtreme (a single easy-to-install package featuring all of Winstep’s popular desktop enhancement products for Windows) for only $14.95 (normal price for Winstep Xtreme is $39.90).
* to the next release of Nexus Ultimate (which includes free upgrades for a whole year) for only $12.50 (i.e. 50% discount, normal price for Nexus Ultimate is $24.95).

[CappinCanuck]

August 5, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - PDF to Word 3.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/pdftoword30/)

With PDF to Word you can open a pdf file and save the content of the document as word file. The program maintains the layout, that means the position of the the text, the pictures and the vector graphics.But this is of cause no lossless conversation but the most important thing can be maintained. If you want to edit PDF files completely lossless then you should use our CAD-KAS PDF Editor.

[CappinCanuck]

August 6, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Nature Illusion Studio Standard Edition (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/nature-illusion-studio-standard-edition/)

Transform your real-world photo into an animated nature scene by adding a wide array of water, weather and sound effects to your own photos and images. All visual effects have been recreated with accurate physics, so ripples on the water or subtle movements of the air look and behave just like they might in the physical life. The end result is a superbly lifelike and atmospheric presentation that can be saved as a screensaver, a standalone executable, an AVI or animated GIF file and distributed to other people, who can admire your creation.
Key features:

* Apply up to 6 types of water effects to a single image
* Add snow or rain
* Add sound effects up to 8 channels
* A library of water presets for various effects, including Waterfall, Lake, River, Fire, Fog, etc.
* Save your creation as a screensaver, executable file, GIF or AVI file

[CappinCanuck]

August 7, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - AllMyNotes Organizer Deluxe (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/allmynotes-organizer-1-35/)

AllMyNotes Organizer – keep all your Notes secure and easy to reach. All Notes stored in a single, encrypted file, and can be grouped into flexible tree structure. The easiest way to keep all your Notes organized on your PC. Capturing notes, ideas, and diaries has never been so enjoyable before!

Ideal for capturing notes, diaries, thoughts, ideas, letters, links, contacts, addresses, quotes, goals, passwords, access codes, and simply unlimited number of other things.
Key features:

* Instant Search
* Encrypted data storage
* Access Restriction by Password
* Strong Password Generator Utility
* Free-form tree
* Automatic Backups
* Import and Export
* Multilingual

[CappinCanuck]

August 8, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Audio Jukebox (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/audio-jukebox/)

EarthSoft Audio Jukebox, powerful jukebox software, supports MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG, and allows you to listen to the radio or the music files locally added, convert the music files or rip CD to other formats, record the radio exactly, etc.
Key features:

* Play the radio or music files freely: double-click the radio or the local music files or right-click the file and select “Play” button to play the file freely.
* Convert the imported audio files: click “Local Media” menu, click “Add” button to add music files from your computer. Right click the files and select “Converter” option to convert them to other formats including MP3, WAV, WMA and OGG.
* Auto-Scan and rip CD: click “Rip & Play” menu, the software will automatically scan your ROM and display the CD files on the screen. Right click the files and select “Ripper” option to rip your CD.
* Record the radio preciously: when the radio is playing, click “Record” button (the red button on the bottom) to record the playing radio precisely.
* Check and revise ID3 information: highlight and right click the music file, and select “ID3 Info” option. Check/ revise the detailed information as you like.
* Convert files in batches: click “Converter” or “Ripper” button once, and all the files will be converted one by one automatically.

[CappinCanuck]

August 9, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Element Anti-Virus 2011 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/element-anti-virus-2011/)

Element Anti-Virus provides maximum security for your computer, it is unobtrusive, resource friendly and most of all, very effective against viruses.

Four-in-one protection and PC maintenance
Element Anti-Virus protects your PC from cyber-threats, and helps improve your PC’s performance, and can help prevent identity theft, all in one, low cost package.

Protects your photos, documents, music and videos from data loss
Element Anti-Virus’ automatic backup and restore prevents you from losing your digital memories, favourite music and important documents.

Protects against zero day threats and exploits
Element Anti-Virus protects your PC by patching potential exploits, immunizes against bad websites and malware, and provides unmatched protection against zero day threats thanks to built in heuristics and powerful algorithms.

[CappinCanuck]

August 10, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Magnifying Glass Pro 1.8 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/magnifyingglasspro/)

The Magnifying Glass Pro utility is a virtual magnifier (virtual lens, screen-zoomer) that enables you to enlarge (magnify) text and graphics as they are displayed on your computer monitor or attached television screen, or projected onto a larger media during a presentation (e.g., using an application such as PowerPoint).

As you pass your mouse cursor over a section of the viewing area, the display is magnified making it instantly more readable and accessible. In addition, you can apply a variety of visual effects and enhancements to that display.
What is new in Magnifying Glass Pro 1.8

* Added mouse wheel to HotKeys.
* Added option for three Glass shapes.
* Added options to change the size and color of the magnified cursor. Also, the size of the cursor is no longer dependent on the current zoom value.
* All visual effects are faster.
* Added a new visual effect: “Web Designer”.
* Contrast options have been moved to visual effects.
* New option for Windows Vista was added to allow for correct switching to/from the Aero style.
* Added a feature called “Float Zone” to the “Under Cursor” position mode. The Glass is not moving while the cursor stays in “Float Zone” area.
* Added the option “Display transparent windows and effects” for fixed position modes.
* The visual appearance has been enhanced.
* Bug fixes have been integrated.

The Good
* Straightforward and easy to use.
* Users can setup the magnifier to work in many different ways for different scenarios.
* Works with hotkeys.
* Users can take screenshots of what you magnify.
* Interesting “mouse shaking” feature.
* Useful “auto profile switcher” that can automatically change the magnifier to a different profile when a certain program is running.

The Bad
* No option to hide mouse cursor while using magnifier.
* “Auto profile switcher” needs minor tweaking to be more consistent.
* Turns off Windows Vista/Win7 Aero.

Free Alternatives
Built-In Magnifier for Windows
Virtual Magnifying Glass
DesktopZoom

[CappinCanuck]

August 11, 2010

Giveaway of the Day - Your monster voice 1.0 (http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/yourmonstervoice/)

Create you own crazy voice effects. Speak into the microphone and hear your voice at the same time through the speakers. But it will not be your voice. It will be the voice of a monster, killer, alien or any crazy voice you can think of. You can save your recorded voice as mp3 or wav file. You can read in existing mp3 files or music CDs. The program ships with a couple of predefined effects. But you will be able to create new effects using simple formulas to map one frequency to another frequency.

The formula for the build in robot voice is:

x*(1-stark)+((len / 2-1-x)*x / (len / 2))*stark
for example. Simply try to change the existing formulas to create your own effects and your own monster voice.

Free Alternatives
MorphVOXJunior (http://www.screamingbee.com/product/download.aspx)