Glary Utilities - PC optimization powerful and free

PC users who never perform basic maintenance always find themselves with a sick machine eventually. Nothing for it but to keep things clean and running smoothly by doing things like repairing registry errors, scanning for and removing inevitable malware, fixing broken shortcuts, and the like. Many users buy costly, bloated big-name suites that slow down their machines worse than the problems they fix do. Instead, I suggest trying powerful, speedy and free packages like Glary Utilities. From their web site:

Glary Utilities offers numerous powerful and easy-to-use system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC.

It allows you to clean common system junk files, as well as invalid registry entries and Internet traces. You can manage and delete browser add-ons, analyze disk space usage and find duplicate files. You can also view and manage installed shell extensions, encrypt your files from unauthorized access and use, split large files into smaller manageable files and then rejoin them. Furthermore, Glary Utilities includes the options to optimize memory, find, fix, or remove broken Windows shortcuts, manage the programs that start at Windows startup and uninstall software. Other features include secure file deletion, an Empty Folder finder and more.

All Glary Utilities tools can be accessed through an eye-pleasing and totally simplistic interface.

Download it here.

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AllMyFaves.com - All your favorite web sites in one place

Whether you need to find a specific web site, or just have a general idea what you need, this web site could be the fastest way to scratch your itch. As you can see from the graphic below, AllMyFaves.com puts several of the best sites in multiple categories at your fingertips. As they say, Why search?


AllMyFaves.com

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Debut Recording Software - Record video from your screen

If you've tried to explain to friend or foe how you did something on your computer, you know how painful the attempt can be. Especially if they don't know anything remotely useful about their computer besides how to turn it on. Well, now you can show them what you did by recording it with Debut. But then they probably won't know how to play the video, so what's the use?

If you'd still like to try, here's a bit more about Debut from their web site:

Debut is a simple, easy to use video recorder that lets you capture video files directly on your PC using a webcam (video camera), or capture device (from video). This PC video capture software can also capture and record almost anything that can be played or displayed on the computer screen. The program saves the video on your hard drive as avi, wmv or many other file types.

Typical Applications:

• Produce your own videos with captions and effects from your webcam or other video input device directly to your computer.
• Create "how to" instructional and training videos by capturing screen movements and audio.
• Capture video presentations such as internal company meetings or announcements for archiving.
• Record video memos and email to staff or colleagues.
• Capture instant snapshots from your favorite home videos to save them as jpg files.

This video recording software is completely free.

Get it here.

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Icon Archive - Transform your computer desktop

You get tired of your computer desktop. (Some of you may be perfectly content with how your screen has looked since you first turned it on 30 years ago, but the rest of us like some variety.) So what do you do? One excellent way to freshen it up is by swapping the boring old icons that come with your operating system for some really cool ones.

But wait! You have to be careful when you go looking for free icons. Malware is plentiful on web sites that offer free stuff, so it's smart to visit sites that have been vetted and recommended by people you trust. Like me.

Here's a look at the desktop icons on one of my machines. (Notice how there are only a few of them? And how everything is neatly put away? Would that the rest of my life were the same.)



You can find literally thousands of icons at IconArchive.com, organized by category for easy browsing, and available in various sizes, either in ico or png format.

Click here to learn about changing your system icons.

Click here to visit IconArchive.com.

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DashBlog - An excellent Firefox extension for bloggers

Bloggers like me are ever on the lookout for tools that make our work easier. It's not that we're lazy. We just like to be efficient, is all. Really.

In any case, this Firefox extension has to be seen to be believed. With DashBlog you can grab a screenshot and mark it up in several ways. You can grab an image or a video. Once grabbed, your content can be saved to disk or posted on your blog, as I did with the image below.



Get it here.

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Merge Remember the Milk with Google Calendar

Some time ago I recommended a free Internet productivity tool called Remember the Milk. By way of reminder, a brief list (from their web site) of RTM's many wonderful features follows:

Manage tasks quickly and easily.
An intuitive interface makes managing tasks fun. Set due dates easily with next Friday or in 2 weeks. Extensive keyboard shortcuts make task management quicker than ever.

Get reminded, anywhere.
Receive reminders via email, SMS, and instant messenger (AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo! are all supported).

Organize the way you want to.
Are you a list lover? Create as many lists as you need. Into tagging? Use the task cloud to easily see what you have to do. Want to store notes along with your tasks? You can do that too.

Locate your tasks.
Use the map to see where your tasks are located in the real world. See what's nearby or on your way, and plan the best way to get things done.

But wait! There's more!

Work together to get things done.
Share, send and publish tasks and lists with your contacts or the world. Remind your significant other to do their household chores.

Add tasks wherever you are.
Adding tasks is as simple as firing off an email (even from your phone). See an important date on the web? Add it to your list with Quick Add.

Take your tasks with you.
Access your tasks on your web-enabled mobile device. Print your entire list or a handy weekly planner which shows upcoming tasks. View your tasks on your calendar with Apple iCal or Google Calendar. Subscribe to feeds with Atom/RSS.

Plan your time.
See what's due today and tomorrow, and the things you've missed. Prioritize, estimate your time, and postpone with ease. Set tasks to repeat every week or after 2 months.

Search your tasks the smart way.
Find the tasks you want with advanced searching. Save your searches as Smart Lists, and easily see tasks that match your desired criteria.

Enjoy getting organized.
The helpful 'undo' feature means you never need to worry about making a mistake. So signup, start playing, and discover Remember The Milk.

Here's the part I want to focus on...merging your RTM tasks with your Google calendar. Once you have your RTM account set up, go to Help, and under Services, click on Google Calendar.

Then, go ahead and click, following the directions.

Remember the Milk.

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Firefox 3- The time to upgrade is now.

Even though Firefox 3 is still technically in beta, and even though the final release is said to be coming June 9, why wait? The current beta, Release Candidate 1, has so many excellent new features that it is definitely worth having now.



If you doubt me, check out PCWorld's "5 Things You'll Love about Firefox 3."

Barry's Best Computer Tips is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.