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Logitech, a maker of Webcams and other peripherals, said Tuesday it will acquire LifeSize Communications for $405 million in cash. The move puts Logitech into the video conferencing market.

LifeSize offers high-definition video-conferencing systems. LifeSize's customers range from small and medium-size businesses to large companies. I've tested out a few LifeSize systems and found them to be solid systems for the money.

The move by Logitech means that most of the standalone video conferencing players have been acquired. Cisco is planning to buy Tandberg but is having some trouble. And once LifeSize is off the board, Polycom will … Read more

Vista Toolbar Icons from icon specialist Aha-Soft promises to update your Windows Vista interface with a spiffy new look. It offers dozens of different icons executed in Vista's shiny, glassy, highlighted style. You can replace the default Vista icons with new ones that initiate the same functions, or add entirely new icons linked to new programs and features. They seem to have an icon for just about everything, and if it's not in Vista Toolbar Icons, it's probably in one of Aha-Soft's other icon packages. They do custom icons, too.

The icons that come with the … Read more

UnRarX is a simple freeware utility for expanding .rar archive files and restoring corrupted archives with .par and .par2 files. The Mac OS no longer includes software for unpacking .rar files, so if you want to expand these kinds of files (usually from PC users), you'll need to download some sort of unarchiving app to do so.

UnRarX has a fairly crude interface--a single log window with options to test, browse, extract, or enter a password for protected archives--but its drag-and-drop simplicity and high success rate have made it a popular choice for users who want a reliable, bare-bones … Read more

Beginners and advanced users alike will appreciate the simplicity of Primitive File Size Chart, a utility that analyzes how much space files and folders are taking up on your computer.

The tool scans a specific disk or folder and lists the largest files and folders within. (By default, the program lists the 50 largest in each category, but you can increase or decrease this number.) The clean user interface displays the path, name, and size of each file and the name and size of each folder in sortable columns. The utility offers no Help file, although it arguably needs none. … Read more

PIXresizer provides a simple and fast set of tools for resizing and reformatting photos. The program provides a strong service and a usable format that someone with any skill set can operate.

We loved the single screen interface that was full of intuitive radio button controls. We never needed to look at the Help file because all the direction we needed was in front of our face. We were able to quickly select a button that shrank our image by a specific percentage or enter a specific set of dimensions for our picture. We were pleasantly surprised by the file … Read more

Best Kakuro allows users to create and solve Kakuro number puzzles. The program's intuitive navigation makes it easy for even beginners to use.

We weren't familiar with Kakuro, but the program's built-in Help file explained the rules of the game. It's a little like Sudoku in that it involves determining which combination of numbers will add up to a given sum. Don't worry if you don't understand; it's a fairly simple premise, and it will make sense when you look at the game. The program lets users create and solve Kakuro puzzles, and … Read more

Label Spirit Professional offers to help design custom labels for any purpose. With a simple layout and a fantastic level of control, this is a great program to meet shipping needs.

We were struck by how much this program's interface looked like a boring graphic design program with its menus of design options, but immediately felt at home while working through its helpful wizard. We surfed through the program's list of labels and were pleased to find practically every brand and style imaginable. The word-processing tool to input addresses was nothing outstanding, but very functional. The program really … Read more

Label Spirit Simple is a powerful label maker that allows users to create labels with text, images, bar codes, and more. Although the program is a bit confusing at first, the program offers many options for label creation.

The program's interface is not particularly intuitive. The program is separated into two components--Label Edit and Label Print--and it is not readily apparent what either of these does. The Print interface in particular is confusing, with lots of little unfamiliar things crowded into the top of the screen. This is unfortunate, because the interface is otherwise quite sleek, and the look … Read more

We admit that one of the reasons we don't post more photos on the Internet is that we are just plain lazy when it comes to uploading and editing our images. We connect the camera, we wait for the editing software to load, we futz around with unintuitive menus and functions--even basic resizing and cropping is a hassle. Fortunately for us, now there's FastStone Maxview. This basic photo viewer and editor allows users to make quick, simple adjustments to their photos. Photoshop this is not, but for quick, basic edits, the program is great.

The program's interface … Read more