lite

EditPad Lite from Just Great Software is a freeware text editor that replaces Notepad in Windows. It adds up-to-date features like tabs, no arbitrary limits on file size, file conversion, unlimited undo and redo, and compatibility with Mac and Unix files.

EditPad Lite's installer let us choose between standard, portable, and advanced installation options. We selected the advanced option, which let us choose directories and set EditPad Lite as the default text file application, which would open EditPad Lite instead of Notepad when we clicked a text file or opened a new text file from Explorer's right-click menu. … Read more

Beauty Guide Lite is a free tool that lets you practice applying makeup to images of faces, even your own. It's basically a slimmed-down graphics editor with brushes and palettes optimized for cosmetics. You can undo, save, and print; sample and alter colors; smudge, lighten, and darken; and flip and rotate images. The software supplies faces to practice on, but you can upload your own images, too, and not just pictures of your own face but also friends, family members, even celebrities and historical figures. It's great for teaching young people how to apply makeup, and it gives … Read more

Calendar and to-do list applications are incredibly common, so a program of this type has to be really special to stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, SimBust Calendar Manager Lite doesn't do much to distinguish itself. The program works just fine, but there's nothing about it that really impressed us.

The program's interface is plain and a little dated, with standard-issue menus and icons across the top. The main pane displays a calendar view. Another pane displays a to-do list, and a third lists folders that to-do items are stored in. The only thing remotely useful or … Read more

Most modern computers have the processing power to run lots of programs at once with no problem, but that leads to a new issue: a desktop cluttered with open windows. Chameleon Window Manager Lite is a clever program that adds extra ways to handle windows without making major changes to the way your desktop functions.

The program's interface is plain and easy to figure out. When it's first launched, Chameleon Window Manager displays a configuration menu where you can customize the way the program acts. Once it's running, the program simply adds extra buttons to each window'… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Mobile device maker ZTE welcomed a trio of additions to its tablet family at CES.

All three are 7-inchers running Android and each has a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera, plus a VGA front-facing camera. Other specs vary slightly between the tiered models. The ZTE Lite tablet, for instance, features Android 2.2 (Froyo), 800x480 screen resolution, a 600MHz processor, and Dolby Surround 3.0 for an audio boost.

The more upscale ZTE Lite 2 tablet boasts a 1GHz processor, a 1,024x600-pixel screen, and DLNA support. It has 4GB internal memory. Both the Lite and Lite 2 are already available … Read more

Although technically one of the first GPS manufacturers to market a mapping app for portables with its Garmin Mobile 10 software for PDAs and Palm, Garmin has been notably absent from the smartphone navigation app marketplace as of late (discounting the aging and ridiculously overpriced Garmin Mobile for Blackberry). Today, Garmin jumps back into the fray, challenging apps from TomTom, Magellan, and Navigon with not one, but four of its own GPS-centric apps, including the new StreetPilot navigation app for iPhone and three new GPS apps for Android devices.

The StreetPilot name hearkens back to the original Garmin StreetPilot GPS … Read more

Google Chrome is gaining popularity and acceptance as an alternative to Firefox and Internet Explorer, and not just among Web surfers; Web developers like Chrome's speed and flexibility as well as its open-source components. Firebug Lite for Google Chrome is a free extension that adds the functionality of the popular Firebug Web development tool to the Chrome interface. Firebug Lite lets you inspect and modify HTML in real time, analyze network performance and activity, and debug JavaScript with what is claimed to be the most advanced debugger available in a browser.

Installing Firebug Lite for Google Chrome was as … Read more

For heavy-duty image editing, a program like Photoshop is a must, but many users don't need anything that big and complex. Digital Photo Finalizer Lite Edition provides a simple suite of editing tools. It's not going to replace a full-featured photo editor, but, as the name suggests, it's a good choice for putting the finishing touches on your photos.

The first thing to be aware of is that you'll be forced to use a free 30-day trial version of the Pro Edition of the software, which will likely get you used to using tools that the … Read more

Linkman Lite from Outertech is a free tool for collecting, centralizing, and managing bookmarks from 10 different browsers. It integrates with Firefox and Internet Explorer as well as the interesting Maxthon. But it's capable of much more, such as the ability to organize and sort bookmarks by keywords, comments, folders, paths, and other filters; synchronize bookmarks and links between two programs or two separate computers; automatically check and update links and delete duplicates; and import and export saved files. You can also color-code bookmarks, protect your bookmark files with a password, set hot keys, save all the links on … Read more