1.1

This cleaner does Windows

Windows PC owners who use Internet Explorer can give their systems a boost with TVcleaner from LT-Box. It's a small, simple, free tool that does one thing: it deletes temporary files held by Windows and IE that are supposed to speed up your system but can actually slow things down when they pile up. It's much quicker to use than running the Windows disk cleanup tool or manually deleting temporary files. TVcleaner runs in most versions of Windows up to Vista and 7, but only 32-bit editions.

TVcleaner has the sort of ultrabasic interface that makes for quick … Read more

Switch your switching

Alt-Tab is a useful Windows keyboard shortcut that lets users view a list of open windows and tab quickly among them. The Alt-Tab dialog is definitely more function than form, though; it's just a gray box with icons representing each window, and the windows' names appear as you tab through them. VistaSwitcher takes the Alt-Tab function and jazzes it up a bit. Though this program isn't really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, it's a definite improvement if you're a frequent Alt-Tabber.

When VistaSwitcher is running it appears unobtrusively as an icon in … Read more

Shutdown Scheduler

Easy Pro ShutDown from Hi-SooFT automates the shutdown, restart, or hibernate process for a Windows computer. It's a small free utility that's compatible with Windows versions from 95 to 7.

Easy Pro ShutDown runs as soon as you click its executable file, with no need to install anything, a fact that also makes it portable. Its user interface is a simple dialog that lets you select Shutdown, Restart, or Hibernation and specify the event in a 24-hour clock display by hours, minutes, and seconds, presumably local time since there's no option for international time zones. There are … Read more

Space maker

It's always a terrible feeling when you realize that you're about to run out of room on your hard drive, and it's even worse when you have no idea what's taking up all that space. WinDirStat Portable is a lightweight program that lets users quickly identify the biggest space hogs on their machines and then take action to tidy things up.

The program's interface is plain and utilitarian. When the program is launched, a dialog box asks users to select the drives or folders they want to analyze. The program then scans the selected locations … Read more

Outdated updates

Occasionally we'll be in the middle of doing something with a seldom-used program and will be interrupted--always when we're in a hurry, of course--by a software update that must be downloaded before we can proceed. We love the idea of a program that will let us check for and download updates for all our programs at once, and that's what Update Notifier attempts to do. Unfortunately, this program works better in theory than in practice.

Update Notifier's interface is pretty easy to understand; there are three tabs that list up-to-date programs, programs on the watch list (… Read more

Disk-cleaning screensaver

Defragmenting your hard disk has always been a good idea, but now it's easier than ever, thanks to utilities like Auslogics Disk Defrag Screen Saver. It automatically defragments your disk when your system is idle, which helps keep your data from becoming fragmented in the first place. Not only that, but it also sports a cool, updated version of the old Windows defragmentation map that tracks the tool's progress in real time.

Disk Defrag Screen Saver shows up in your list of screensavers after installation, and you select it like any other. There's a Settings dialog with … Read more

Movies on demand

There's no doubt that Netflix revolutionized the entertainment biz with its online service for renting movies. The company is fixing to continue its entertainment coup on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch with a free app that we've got to say is so far a joy to use.

Its straightforward design starts off with a home screen that shows off fun, featured content like "goofy crime comedies" and "dark dramas based on contemporary literature." Of course you can also browse for flicks and shows by more typical genres, like Action and Television. The app … Read more

Name that tune

If you're having trouble naming that tune, just fire up SoundHound to speak, sing, hum, type, or record a song for the music-identification service to identify. It will return a song, complete with artist bios, video links, and links to an online music store. SoundHound will also, crucially, pull in song lyrics where available or link you to a lyrics search where they're not. Trend charts show you how popular a song is vis a vis the publisher's online and mobile network, and you can see which songs other users have identified. A free version of SoundHound … Read more

Decimal placer

Tvalx specializes in mathematical software; its Scientific Calculator Decimal is essentially a virtual version of the classic handheld scientific calculator optimized for calculating decimals. It's suitable for everyone from math students to scientists and engineers. It's precise up to 30 digits and includes trigonometric, hyperbolic, and inverse functions.

As with other calculating tools from Tvalx, Scientific Calculator Decimal has a clean, efficient, attractive layout that's largely based on the functional design of handheld scientific calculators, though you can customize the look, too. The layout strikes a good balance between busy and clean. File, Edit, Tools, and Help … Read more

Get it straight

Not infrequently we see friends and family members sharing photos online that are sideways, often with the disclaimer, "Sorry, I don't know how to rotate it." If you're one of these orientation-challenged people--or if you're just looking for an easy way to rotate many photos at once--try Batch JPEG Rotator. This simple program doesn't do much, but it does make it extremely easy to rotate your digital images.

The program's interface is sleek and intuitive. A large open work area dominates the interface, with a menu down the side giving users access to … Read more