Free Software Workshop

GOM Media Player – best free media player

admin — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:02:48 +0000

GOM Media player is a free multimedia player published by Gretech. It has a very simple graphical user interface (GUI) which makes it easier to work with. It has lots of audio and video codecs which are built-in. It supports multiple file formats such as AVI, Mpeg, DivX, Xvid, WMV, DAT, ASF etc.

Partially downloaded files and locked files can also be played using this player. Another feature that it incorporates is the drag-and-drop support. Its enhanced filter rendering makes it stand out amongst all other players. Further it has skins which can be edited. Other features include key remapping and subtitling, HTTP streaming, Unicode support and real-time index rebuilding.

GOM Media Player screenshot

The support it renders to a wide range of file formats makes it probably the best free media player. It has customizable settings on the control panel which are extremely impressive and interesting. A video’s brightness, hue and saturation can be adjusted here. One can use a pop-out playlist to save and organize various media files. But it has just two sort modes which is the area where it lags. It does not have a preview window and changes may occur during video playback, therefore you can change the settings after you have started playing the file or have the settings adjusted in trial session before you actually watch the video.

Another very exciting feature of this freeware player is the screen-capture feature which includes hot keys, zooming and panning, customizable themes, and lots of preset and adjustable audio controls. Though GOM Media player may have weaknesses where help documentation and Save settings are concerned, overall it is a very good player which will cater to almost all your video-watching needs.

Pros & Cons
This freeware supports many file formats (codecs), but if you find a video that can’t be played by default, GOM Media Player will find you one and direct you to the download location
The screen capture utility will let you take screenshots right from GOM player
No cons so far; I tried to play a DVD, but the program found a codec in no time.

What’s new in version 2.1.16 of GOM Media Player version?

The occasional Deadlock problem that happened when you shut down the play has been modified
The Vorbis audio decoder has a performance improvement

The download is less than 5 MB. Available for all versions of Windows.

Download linkDownload GOM Media Player

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Automate tasks in Windows with the DaVinci Script

admin — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 21:31:43 +0000

The daVinci Script is a freeware Windows Automation Tool that allows you to automate your PC activities, no matter of their complexity or area of impact.
While most automation tools only run on PC’s, the daVinci Script also supports mobile units and servers.
With the possibility of sending a portion of the script to a remote unit to be executed there, the power of the daVinci Script is almost unlimited.

What can the DaVinci Script do for you?

For example, you can instantly publish an image on your website.

With the push of a button on your mobile phone, you are able to send the last taken picture to a Windows server, where a thumbnail image is created and the picture is added to the web page.
Both image processing and web page building are done on the server side, but all the instructions are kept locally in your mobile unit, where you can change them at any time.

The daVinci Script supports the following functional areas:

User Interface & Debugging Tools
Text Processing
File and Folder Manipulation & MS Office interface
Internet Communication & E-mail
Image Processing
Time and Timer Related Functions
Registry Manipulation
Mobile Access and Control (from PC through ActiveSync)
System Information & Window Control
Remote Control

DaVinci Script screenshot

Pros & Cons
This Windows automation tool is a freeware (free of charge)!
The script is very powerful and you are able to automate about every process you could think of.
You will have to learn the script’s syntax in order to automate the desired process. The good news is that the script language is easier than Visual Basic. If you’re a beginner, you may find these great examples useful.

The download is about 3.2 MB. Available for Windows XP/Vista, Mobile 2002/2003/5/6 and Server 2000/2003/2008.

Download link for the DaVinci ScriptDownload the DaVinci Script

Publisher’s website: http://www.davinci.platsen.org

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Launch programs instantly with Launchy

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 17:44:49 +0000

Launchy is a free and open source keystroke launcher for Windows and Linux that will allow you to launch a program just by typing the first letters of its name.

After using Windows or Linux for a few months, it’s impossible that you haven’t installed different programs for fulfilling your needs like office suites, audio/video editing tools, instant messaging software, games and so on. Your desktop or Start menu may be cluttered with shortcuts to your applications. This is where Launchy steps in.

The program runs in the background and when you need to use it, simply press Alt+Spacebar. Simply type the first letters and Launchy will “guess” the programs you’re trying to open. Instead of browsing to your application’s executable, this process is very quick (alsmost instant) and will save you a lot of time.

Launchy screenshot

How does Launchy know how to complete the program name? Easy: from the Windows Start menu. What if you have applications that didn’t require installation? No problem. You can add new directories where you have those executables (.exe) and Launchy will also index them.

The application’s shortcut keys can be modified, if you’re not happy with Alt+Spacebar. You can choose from a variety of skins and plugins or add your own via the Plugins tab in Launchy options.

What I like about this freeware is that you can use Google’s calculator, search on Wikipedia or YouTube right from it’s interface. For example, type gcalc, then press Tab and input your expression. You can also find out the speed of light like I did below:

Launchy GCalc screenshot

Pros & Cons
very fast, easy to use
open source (thus 100% safe)
not available for Vista

The download is about 4MB. Available for Windows 2000/XP and Linux operating systems.

Download linkDownload Launchy

Publisher’s website

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Recover deleted files with Recuva

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:09:07 +0000

Recuva is a free of charge data recovery application designed to recover files that have been deleted by accident or by other causes like viruses, bugs, crashes and so on.

After installing the program, you’ll simply have to run an user-friendly Wizard, which will ask you questions like What sort of files are you trying to recover? or Where were the files? and so on. Recuva will look for the files that match your criteria.

After a few minutes or seconds, depending on the location that you have selected, you’ll see the deleted files that Recuva has found. Unfortunately, some of the files may be unrecoverable or in a very poor state because some other data has been written over them.

Recuva screenshot

At this stage, all you have to do is select the deleted files that you want to be recovered and click the Recover… button. Save the file(s) where you wish and you’re done!

Pros & Cons
Very easy to use and a slick interface
It’s free and it does recover your deleted files.
If you run the default installation, the program will also install the Yahoo! Toolbar. If you don’t want this, you can uncheck the Install optional Yahoo! Toolbar in the Install Options screen.

What’s new in version 1.21.373 of Recuva?

Improved recovery of orphaned JPG images in FAT32.
The launch wizard button has been fixed.
The scan canceling has been improved on large files.
Fixed a bug that caused Wizard icons to not be displayed in 16 bit color.
Checking for updates is now included in the tab-stop.
Some minor UI problems have been corrected.

The download is about 2.23MB. Available for Windows 98/2000/2003/XP/Vista.

Download linkDownload Recuva Alternative download link
Publisher’s website

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Create animated slideshows with Jtvmaker

admin — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:49:55 +0000

Jtvmaker is a freeware application with which you can create animated slideshows that you can embed in web pages or design albums for friends and family. You just need a little creativity and some patience.

After installing the program, you have to add some photos using the big plus button or pasting the images from your clipboard. Now you have to simply choose the desired transition effects and filters used for each slide.

Jtvmaker screenshot

Jtvmaker offers you a series of options for customizing your slideshow. You can choose the way your photos transition from one to another, the time for each picture to be displayed, the type of the text used for comments (captions) or the dimensions of the slides. You can also add effects to images like zoom, sepia, contrast and include audio and text files in your future masterpiece.

Pros & Cons
easy to use, lightweight
you can create Karaoke slideshows!
small number of animations, but more will be added in future versions

What’s new in Jtvmaker version 3.86:

A GUI bug was fixed
The animation speed error in wipe transition was tweaked
Constant speed animation was replaced with sinusoidal speed animation now
The anti-flickering filter was tuned
Some mistakes in the documentation were corrected

The download is about 1.5MB. Available for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista.

Download linkDownload Jtvmaker

Publisher’s website

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RocketDock – application launcher

admin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 19:20:14 +0000

RocketDock is a free application launcher that combines the power of ObjectDock, MobyDock and Y’z Dock. This freeware can replace the dull Windows taskbar and give your desktop the smoothness of the MAC OS X dock.

The first thing that you’ll probably do after installing the application is adding shortcut icons to RocketDock. This is a fairly simple task: just drag&drop the icons on your dock or right-click and choose Add Item .

The interface is simply stunning. The effects used are pleasant to watch, especially the zooming on the application’s items. RocketDock can be positioned in every part of the screen. You can choose from a wide collection of themes and also download different icon sets. The program’s settings can be fine tuned, so your dock will be as you desire.

RocketDock screenshot

Besides the application’s looks, RocketDock’s functionality shouldn’t be ignored. Instead of browsing for your programs’ executables or cluttering your desktop with tens of shortcuts, RocketDock will start your favorite software with a single click.

If you decide to keep RocketDock, I recommend checking the Run at Startup in the Dock Settings window, so you don’t have to start the program yourself when you open your computer.

Pros and Cons

Low memory (RAM) usage and very stable
You can minimize windows to RocketDock (taskbar function)
Fully customizable (really!)
Submit a comment if you found one.

The download is about 6.20MB. Available for Windows 98/Me/NT/XP/Vista.
Download linkDownload

Publisher’s website

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FreeSoftwareWorkshop.com has a new template!

admin — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 19:55:06 +0000

photo credit:bludomino.ca

Yes, all that work has finally paid off… I must say that I’m happy with the new theme, aren’t you?

I’ve added a little snow, Christmas is knocking at the door, right? Hope it doesn’t slow down the page too much…

Please vote in the pool in the sidebar and tell me what you think of the template.

We will resume posting as usual. Sorry for the delay.

Clear Internet browsing footprints with ClearProg

admin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 09:47:21 +0000

Deleting browsing footprints is becoming more and more important because of the risks posed by malicious software. ClearProg 1.5.0 protects your privacy against indiscreet eyes by deleting browser files that enclose sensitive information like passwords, surfing habits or other personal details.

When installing this freeware application, ClearProg will prompt you to create some shortcuts. Besides the usual Desktop and Quicklaunch shortcut, two more will appear; those point to eBay, but you can easily deselect them, thus preventing them from being created.

After you start ClearProg, select the browser that you use and the type of browsing footprints that need to be deleted, including the Typed URLs and AutoComplete entries in webforms. You must activate the empty of the “index.dat” file option because confidential information is also saved here. ClearProg supports 3 file deletion method: normal deletion, moving the files to the Recycle Bin or secure deletion by overwriting the files.

ClearProg features:

supported browsers: Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla Firefox and Opera
delete cookies (you choose which ones)
delete history
delete temporary internet files (cache)
empty the Recycle Bin
delete windows temp files

The download is less than 1MB. Available for Windows XP and Vista.

Download linkDownload ClearProg

ClearProg website: http://www.clearprog.de/downloads.php?lang=en

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Manage startup programs with AutoRuns

admin — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 15:00:18 +0000

In a previous article, we’ve talked about Startup Optimizer, a great freeware program for managing startup applications. Startup Optimizer is good for the average user because it only displays the basic programs and also labels them as safe or harmful (although not 100% accurate). If you are an advanced user, then you will need to know even more programs that start at the same time with Windows. This is when AutoRuns comes in handy.

AutoRuns is a free of charge startup manager that will display all startup applications. The program doesn’t require installation, just a simple double-click on autoruns.exe.

You are able to see the applications in your startup folder, Services, Run, RunOnce, and other Registry keys. In fact, you can enable/disable each driver, DLL file, Internet Explorer add-on and more.

Activate the Hide Signed Microsoft Entries option to hide images that are signed by Microsoft; those don’t pose any threat. After some tweaking and tuning, restart your PC. Your computer’s bootup time should improve.

AutoRunsc is the command-line version of AutoRuns.

The download is less than 1MB. Available for all Windows versions.

Download AutoRuns

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RadarSync – update drivers for free

admin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:45:28 +0000

About two weeks ago, I’ve written an article about another program used for updating drivers called DriverMax. Although I haven’t fully tested the application, I must say that the product found some driver updates. DriverMax’ strong point is its driver backup feature. Paul commented on the article about DriverMax and informed me about another driver updating software, RadarSync.

RadarSync screenshot

RadarSync is a freeware application that will help you update your PC’s essential drivers. Besides drivers, the program will also look for updates for other software installed on your computer. In order to make the most out of your hardware devices, it is important to use the latest drivers available. After downloading and installing RadarSync, the program will perform a scan on your system. If there are any available updates, the application will list them.

The developers of RadarSync declare that the downloads are directly from the vendor’s website. I recommend creating a restore point before updating any drivers. Safety first!

The applications interface is easy-to-use and professional looking at the same time.

Below is a screenshot where you can see RadarSync updating 7-zip-file archiver:

RadarSync in action...

I must say that if you have some spare time, you should manually check that the update exists; no program is perfect. RadarSync told me that there is a new release of the Safari browser, when it turned out that I’ve already had the latest version.

Overall, RadarSync is an useful program for updating drivers and other applications for free. Try it out and leave your opinion in the comment section below.

The download is less than 2MB. Available for: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Download RadarSync

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