Favorite Files

1. Autoruns
2. FastStone Image Viewer
3. FreeCommander
4. Microsoft Photosynth
5. Microsoft SyncToy
6. Opera for Windows
7. Panda USB Vaccine
8. Picasa for Windows

Recent Posts

1. 
   Review - Spiffy

   0.3.13 (Nov 16, 2009)

   feature request : support for more than 2 gmail accounts, please !

2. 
   Review - Microsoft SyncToy

   2.1 (Nov 12, 2009)

   wow ! some great updates in this one, considering it's only a '.1' update ! Looking forward to seeing the speed updates, and the auto drive-letter fix. Good for Win7 and 64-bit.
   
   * Better Performance: The speed of file copy operations is significantly increased across the board.
   * Improved Robustness: Much more resilient to transient network and file system errors and better error reporting which pin-points which file the sync failed on in case there’s a fatal error that stops the sync.
   * Folder pair configuration backup: Folder pair configuration is automatically backed up under %localappdata%\microsoft\synctoy\2.0. User can replace SyncToyDirPairs.bin with the backup copy to resolve last saved configuration.
   o Fixed the data corruption issue when using SyncToy with NAS drives.
   o Fixed the issue that prevented uploading files to SharePoint when using SyncToy 2.0.
   o Fixed the issue that prevented delete changes from being synchronized when the sync option is set to “Echo”.
   o Fixed the UI issue where reported file time were off by the difference between local time and UTC when destination is a FAT volume.
   * Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition.
   * True Folder Sync: Folder creates, renames and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions.
   * Exclusion Filtering Based on Name: File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching.
   * Filtering Based on File Attributes: The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden).
   * Unattended Folder Pair Execution: Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off.
   * Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints: Ability for folder pairs associated with the same or different instances of SyncToy to share end-points.
   * Command line enhancements: Added the ability to manage folder pairs via the command line interface.
   * Re-Architect Sync Engine: The SyncToy engine has been rearchitected to provide scalability and the ability to add significant enhancements in future releases.
   * Sync engine is also more robust insomuch that many single, file level errors are skipped without affecting the entire sync operation.
   * Sync Encrypted Files: Sync of Encrypted files works when local folder and files are encrypted, which addresses the common scenario involving sync between local, encrypted laptop PC folder and remote, unencrypted desktop PC folder.
   * 64-Bit Support: SyncToy now has a native 64-bit build (x64 only) for 64-bit versions of Windows.
   * Folder pair rename
   * Sub-folder Exclusion Enhancements: Descendents created under excluded sub-folders are automatically excluded. Usability improvements for the sub-folder exclusion dialog.
   * Folder Pair Metadata Moved: Folder pair metadata removed from MyDocuments to resolve any issues with server-based folder pair re-direction setup.
   * Setup Improvements: Integrated setup with single self-extracting archive file and no extra downloads if you already have .NET Framework 2.0 installed. Enabled silent install for the SyncToy Installer file

3. 
   Review - Picasa for Windows

   3.5.0 Build 79.69 (Oct 2, 2009)

   Google - please make your changelog easier to find ! (Loving the product, btw)
   
   Version 3.5, Build 79.69 - September 30, 2009
   
   * Fixed an issue where the Universal Terms of Service displays garbled text when installed on non-English versions of Windows.
   * Fixed an issue where certain scanners weren't recognized when importing.
   * Fixed an issue where the Retouch edit was not applied.
   * Fixed an issue where editing contact information in Picasa altered the formating of contact information at http://contacts.google.com/
   * Added a progress bar when batch editing with 'Auto Red Eye Correction.'
   * Returned the 'Copy full path' option to the right-click menu.
   * Increased stability through multiple crash fixes. Thanks for reporting!

4. 
   Review - Outlook on the Desktop

   1.5.0 (Dec 12, 2008)

   I've been using this for about a year - very useful. Works fine on XP/sp3.
   
   A few more shortcuts would be useful, eg: to switch views.
   
   Very handy to display calendar on desktop, you can also add calender entries directly.

5. 
   Review - Picasa for Windows

   3.0 Build 57.19 Beta (Sep 14, 2008)

   September 09, 2008 - Picasa 3 (Beta), Build 57.19
   
   # Automatically sync edits from PC to web, and share online albums directly from Picasa.
   # New Retouching tool, Text tool, Smart Cropping tool, and improved Photo Collage tool.
   # Create video slideshows with photos, videos, and music.
   # Direct upload of videos to YouTube.
   # Streamlined photo viewer for browsing photos via the Desktop or Windows Explorer.
   http://readme.picasa.com/picasaweb/
   
   WHAT'S NEW
   Sync your Picasa 3 and Picasa Web Albums edits
   Retouch your images
   Preview image files with Picasa Photo Viewer
   Create and edit movies
   Capture your screen
   Add text or watermarks to your photos
   Print captions
   Upload easily to Picasa Web Albums
   Control your Picasa Web Albums settings
   Manage folders on your computer
   Get more information about your photos
   
   WHAT'S CHANGED -
   Collage
   sharing
   Auto red-eye
   Cropping
   Screensaver
   Multiple word tags
   Importing
   slideshow
   
   Picasa : Picasa 3 feature overview - http://picasa.google.com.../answer.py?answer=93773
   
   Picasa-3 blog - discussion of new features
   http://googlephotos.blogspot.com/