Newsletter Archives

• 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

• Auto Recycle Bin — Honestly, it’s the only way I’ll remember

  Posted on December 12, 2022 at 02:43 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Every morning, while we are updating OlderGeeks.com, we delete lots of big files and screenshots and replace them with newer versions. I have this problem where I will go for months forgetting to empty my Recycle Bin. It gets big — real big.

  I went looking for something that could take over the part of my brain responsible for Recycle Bin dumping, and I found Auto Recycle Bin by John Harby over at CyRobo. It was exactly what I needed, so I thought I would share it with you nice people.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.50.0, 2022-12-12).

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

• Gourmet Recipe Manager — Organizing your stolen recipes

  Posted on November 21, 2022 at 02:41 CST by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  First of all, I’m not a cook. That’s my husband’s job.

  The few things I do cook or bake are from recipes that I nab at family gatherings from my older relatives. I decided I needed to move these recipes out of their old card file boxes, so I went looking for some free software — because I’m cheap that way.

  I tried a few recipe organizers before I found an old program. Released in 2014, Gourmet Recipe Manager by Tom Hinkle may not have had any updates in quite a while, but it was exactly what I was looking for. I went ahead and tested it on Windows 7, 10, and 11; all seems fine.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.47.0, 2022-11-21).

  Freeware Spotlight Database, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Newsletters, OCR, Recipes

• HDCleaner — Stay out of my store!

  Posted on October 31, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  HDCleaner — Stay out of my store!

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Today’s featured program is a way for you to stay out of my computer store and clean up your own darned computer.

  It’s not that I don’t like to see a new customer walk in the door. I just know that people remember when you help them, and they will return the favor someday. You know, regular civilized-society stuff.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.44.0, 2022-10-31).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware Spotlight AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Disk Cleanup

• No Crappy Passwords — Secure passwords, no password book

  Posted on October 17, 2022 at 02:44 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  You have a password book. You know the one. That ruffled little book with the cover falling off and marked-out passwords dating back to the Clinton administration.

  What would happen right now if that book got destroyed or stolen, perhaps along with the computer that remembers all those passwords?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.42.0, 2022-10-17).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware Spotlight AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, encryption, passwords

• Slimjet – A Web browser with no assembly required

  Posted on October 3, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  There are a lot of Web browsers out there if you want to stray from Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.

  All have extensions you can install to add your favorite cool features, but that’s like having to assemble your toys on Christmas morning. How about something that comes out of the box ready to go?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.40.0, 2022-10-03).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware Spotlight AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Web Browsers

• Stick A Note — It’s life-changing! No, really … life-changing

  Posted on September 19, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.38 • 2022-09-19

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Is this freeware maven seriously going to shove another sticky-note program down our throats? Yes. Yes, I am.

  I am, because this is quite different. This will change the way you live! It’s on a par with the printing press! The cotton gin! This telephone! Okay, fine, it’s at least equal to the invention of fried pies!

  Anand Gupta, a wonderful, professional developer from West Bengal, India, has created a freeware program called Stick A Note that is considerably different from any sticky-note program you have ever used. Stick A Note does not put virtual sticky notes onto your desktop. It puts them on the windows of individual programs.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.38.0, 2022-09-19).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware Spotlight AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, Freeware, Notes

• Keyboard Locker — When you have a bunch of cats or just one big one

  Posted on September 5, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  A funny thing happened as I was beginning to write this article about locking your keyboard.

  Dewey (aka “Chonk”) filled my page with gibberish as he strolled across my keyboard while I was away. So, the brilliant opening I had originally written for this article is gone — because Chonk doesn’t remember (or care) what he destroyed. Bad kitty!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.36.0, 2022-09-05).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware Spotlight AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, keyboard, Lock

• Cryptomator – a little foil on your head is quite fashionable

  Posted on August 29, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.35 • 2022-08-29

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  You can say you don’t trust the cloud with your files, but you do store files in the cloud. Your emails, your cat pictures on Facebook, your virtual farm in Farmville, your credit info, your bank account … yep, the cloud.

  But you don’t have to go all-in with full trust. Take matters into your own hands!

  I love my cloud storage services. I use Dropbox (my favorite), Google Drive (or whatever they’re calling it this week), OneDrive (will always be SkyDrive in my heart), and iCloud (we all make mistakes). Do I trust them to encrypt my data? Sure I do. Encrypt away, geeks! Do I also encrypt the files again from my end? Heck, yeah! Now, one might call me paranoid, but I’m really just a bit of a history buff. Words like “unhackable” and “uncrackable” sound an awful lot like “unsinkable” to me.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.35.0, 2022-08-29).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  AskWoody FREE Newsletter, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Freeware Spotlight AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Deanna's Freeware Spotlight, encryption, security
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