2011 is gone, and this means it’s time to turn that old bucket of bolts near your desk into a new, pleasant computer. But how do you do this without installing new hardware and spending a ton of money? That’s easy! Install some new, juicy applications that give your computer a change of pace. I now present you with the 10 juiciest applications for Windows 7 you probably never knew about.
[Read more...]
10 Juicy Applications For Windows 7
By | January 16, 2012 | 5 Comments
A Guide to the KDE Notification System
By | November 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment
KDE offers one of the most comprehensive and flexible notification systems (KNotify). In addition to system notifications, nearly every program has notification settings that are integrated into the larger desktop environment. Moreover, KDE’s notification system is configurable for just about any type of user, including those who need specific accessibility features.
[Read more...]
4 Great Places to Find And Download Portable Applications
By | October 23, 2011 | 6 Comments
The people who frequently change their computers or travel a lot want to have their data with them all the time. It is not always possible to take a laptop or a computer with them. This is where the concept of portable applications comes in. Portable applications are programs that do not depend on any system and do not need to be installed anywhere. They can be installed in a folder and that folder can be copied and taken anywhere without leaving any settings or data behind.
[Read more...]
Cog: A Great iTunes Alternative For Mac OS X
By | August 6, 2011 | Leave a Comment
After iTunes erroneously deleted my music collection a few years ago, I started looking for alternatives. Being a part-time Windows user, I had grown to love the simplicity of Winamp, with its file and folder based music management. Unfortunately there was no port available on OSX. Thankfully, I stumbled across a little open source project named Cog.
Cog is a lightweight music player, which supports many audio file-types including MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, Apple Lossless, Musepack, Monkeys Audio, Shorten, Wavpack, Wave/AIFF and much more. It also offers HTTP streaming, as well as some neat features like gapless playback, support for Apple remotes, Last.fm integration and Growl notifications. Additionally, it lets you specify which audio output device to use, should you happen to have more than one.
[Read more...]
StartMenuXP Restores Your Start Menu to XP Style [Windows]
By | July 20, 2011 | Leave a Comment
If you have installed lots of applications in Windows 7, you will find that your Start menu is cluttered, messy and finding the applications you need is no longer a quick and simple task. What makes it worst is that the more applications you have, the slower the Start menu loads. A task that needs only one second to complete now requires five seconds.
For those who came from the Windows XP background and love the cleanliness and efficiency of its Start menu, StartMenuXP is an application for Windows 7 that can replace the W7 Start menu with a dropdown menu in the Windows XP style. It added the much needed organization and efficiency to your existing Start menu, making it a pleasure to use.
[Read more...]
How to Try Mac App Store Applications for Free
By | May 25, 2011 | 1 Comment
It’s easy to get caught up in the Mac’s App Store trying different applications, and an hour into browsing having spent $100 for a handful of applications, only to find out only one of them is something that you would actually use. There’s actually an easy way to try many of the paid applications for free.
[Read more...]
How To Remove Programs Completely in Windows
By | April 27, 2011 | 3 Comments
To get rid of a program in Windows, all you need to do is to go to the uninstallation corner (in the Control Panel) and uninstall the software. The question is, do you think that can really remove all traces of its presence? The answer is unlikely. Most of the uninstalled applications is not removed entirely. Some files may remain in the installation folder, in the Documents folder or somewhere else in the file system. The worst case, some of its registry keys remain untouched and inflate the Registry. As more of these leftover files and registry keys increased, your computer become slower and performance decreases.
What is the solution? Find a powerful uninstaller tool to completely remove the remains.
[Read more...]
How to Change Default Programs in Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard
By | April 14, 2011 | Leave a Comment
When you choose a file, your Mac tends to open it with a default program, even if you have multiple programs that are designed to work with that type of file. The odds are that your HTML files will open in Safari, your text documents will open in Pages (or if you don’t have Pages installed, it will open in Text Edit) and your pictures will open with Preview. For most of us, that is a good thing, but it may not be for you. Maybe you want to edit your photos with a more advanced tool, instead of just viewing them. That means have to open each photo in the program before you can begin your work. Not exactly what anyone would call a convenient setup.
If you want to fix that, you are going to have to change your default programs. Don’t worry. That may sound really complicated at first, but with Leopard, or Snow Leopard, it is really quite simple. Just follow these steps and you will be up and changing your file associations in no time.
[Read more...]
Bartender Lite = A More Useful Android Notification Bar
By | April 10, 2011 |
One of the most under utilized parts of an Android phone is the notification bar. While it is useful for alerting you of emails, calendar appointments and SMS messages. The Android navigation bar can do so much more.
Previously on Make Tech Easier, we showed you how to put a reminder note in your Android notification bar. If you are looking for more uses for your Android notification bar, Bartender lite will let you create application shortcuts in your notification bar.
[Read more...]
5 More Intriguing KDE Apps
By | March 30, 2011 | 1 Comment
Ever so often, I take a stroll over to KDE-Apps.org and look at some of the fantastic creations people from the KDE community develop. There are a wide range of apps in nearly every category, but I have selected 5 that stand out and would be very useful additions to my desktop and hopefully yours too. All of these apps are either new or have been recently updated within the past few months.
[Read more...]
