Newsletter Archives

• Three typing tutors — no more “hunt and peck”

  Posted on May 29, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Let’s face it, life is too short to be taking 30 minutes to type out an email or a witty Facebook rebuttal.

  Today, I’m going to show you three best-of-the-best — and absolutely free — typing tutors. Each one is a bit different, and each one has some pretty nifty features. So sorry, Mavis Beacon. You’ve always been a nice lady, but you are getting expensive! There is always a free alternative.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.22.0, 2023-05-29).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Training, Typing Tutors

• Upscayl — Killer robots are good at other things

  Posted on May 15, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  All you hear about these days is the lightning-fast advancements of artificial intelligence. It’s as if no one had watched a single science-fiction movie in the past 30 years.

  Luckily, until our toasters take us out in our sleep, AI can be pretty useful. When you lack the skills to complete a necessary task, many free software programs that use AI are ready to help.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.20.0, 2023-05-15).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Image manipulation, Newsletters

• RoboMirror — robocopy’s fancy cousin

  Posted on April 24, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  The ability to mirror two folders has been a Windows feature for about 26 years, using the robocopy command at a command prompt.

  Now, you can use robocopy with a graphical user interface (GUI), thanks to Martin Kinkelin’s open-source project, RoboMirror.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.17.0, 2023-04-24).

  Freeware Spotlight backup, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, robocopy

• Opal — Now I need a nap

  Posted on April 10, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Last year, a Gallup survey of over 3,000 adults in the U.S. reported that only 32% of us get “excellent” sleep; 35% get “good” sleep, and 33% of us get “poor” or “fair” sleep.

  The one thing that has helped calm my mind so I can fall asleep is sound. There is simply no way I can fall asleep in a quiet room. Give me that pan flute CD from the swap meet, or an episode of “Frasier,” and I’m out in 10 minutes!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.15.0, 2023-04-10).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Environment, Newsletters, Sound

• Temp_Cleaner GUI — Just what I was looking for

  Posted on March 27, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  When I go looking for a piece of free software for a particular need, I usually have a checklist in my mind.

  In this case, I was looking for a program that we could put on customers’ computers after a tune-up to help them in two ways. First is having a way to keep things cleaned out. Second is discouraging the client from downloading bundleware contained in other cleanup programs.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.13.0, 2023-03-27).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, User Interface, Windows GUI

• Biniware Run — All your eggs in one basket

  Posted on March 13, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  We all have that set of things we do every time we sit down at our computers. Open this, open that, read that webpage, check that stock price, etc. Why not put it all in one place?

  Dicu Alexandru is a Romanian developer whose software portfolio includes the wildly popular Windows Firewall Control, which was purchased — along with his website — in 2018 by Malwarebytes (lucky dog!). Having many more ideas in his head, Dicu has continued to develop free software for the world to enjoy. I would just be sipping cocktails on a beach somewhere if Malwarebytes had bought my business — but you go, Dicu!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.11.0, 2023-03-13).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Desktop tools, Menus, Newsletters, User Interface, Windows

• A bunch of free RAM testing tools — most called “MemTest”

  Posted on February 27, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.09 • 2023-02-27

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  While navigating our way down to Austin to visit our daughter over the years, we have learned one thing about Texas. It has too many highways, they are all still being built, and they are all named I-35.

  Well, the creators of RAM (random access memory) testing programs must live in Texas because they named most of them “MemTest”!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.09.0, 2023-02-27).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Freeware, Memory Testing, Newsletters

• WeatherMate — The weather on your desktop, without ads

  Posted on February 13, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Weather apps seem to follow a process in development.

  Step 1: Make a full-featured app.

  Step 2: Let people get hooked on it for a few years.

  Step 3: Ruin it by filling it with an obscene number of advertisements.

  But there is one app out there that is a breath of fresh air, mostly sunny with only a 10 percent chance of showers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.07.0, 2023-02-13).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Weather

• Volume² — a comfortable, useful addition to Windows

  Posted on January 30, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Have you ever stumbled across a program that is so sleek, so well executed, and so simple that it feels as if it’s always been a part of Windows?

  A program you just know must be on all your computers, or they won’t feel like Windows?

  Alexandr Irza, a talented developer from Ukraine, created Volume². It’s a free, open-source program that seriously upgrades the volume controls of your Windows PC. I always enjoy listening to a little music while I write these articles, and I can’t stop playing with my new volume controls!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.05.0, 2023-01-30).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Sound, Volume

• Windows Menu Editor — This is the last day I search for “Delete”!

  Posted on January 16, 2023 at 02:44 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  I switch between versions of Windows a lot.

  Most of the computers I repair are Windows 10, but most of the ones I build are Windows 11. Two of the desktops I use in the office are Windows 10, but my office laptop is Windows 11. I don’t know how many times a day I right-click to cut, copy, paste, rename, or delete something — but if it’s on Windows 11, it takes time for my brain to stop searching for the words “Cut,” “Copy,” “Paste,” “Rename,” or “Delete.”

  I don’t have the time nor the will to adapt!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.03.0, 2023-01-16).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Menus, Newsletters, Windows 10, Windows 11

• Firewall App Blocker — Make the Windows firewall usable

  Posted on December 26, 2022 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Microsoft did a pretty decent job when it added an improved software firewall to Windows XP SP2, and it has gotten even better over the years.

  That said, the ease of adding a program to be allowed or blocked by Windows Firewall has not improved much at all.

  But that’s okay. Along with its other great programs, Sordum.org has created Firewall App Blocker.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.52.0, 2022-12-26).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Firewalls, Newsletters

• RemindMe — The digital spouse

  Posted on December 19, 2022 at 02:42 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  My husband has always claimed that he doesn’t forget things.

  His excuse is that he purges them from his brain to make room for more computer knowledge. You know, purging things like previous vacations, former pets … his momma’s birthday.

  I went looking for a reminder program to assist with all of my husband’s new medical appointments and stuff. I found a great one by Dutch software engineer Stefan Gansevles. The program is called — simply enough — RemindMe, and it is an absolute breeze to use.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.51.0, 2022-12-19).

  Freeware Spotlight Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, Recycle Bin, Windows
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