Operating System: Windows XP, Windows Vista
Version: 20090613
Web Site: http://code.google.com/p/activatebynum/

Features (From the web site)

ManicTime automatically collects data on your computer usage. It records active and away time, as well as which applications you used and for how long you used them.

The data ManicTime collects is stored in a local database on your computer. Collected data is not transmitted anywhere or shared with anyone. Only you have access to it, which means no privacy concerns. Having a local database also enables you to use ManicTime offline, without an Internet connection.

Collected data is presented using timelines. There are three predefined timelines:

• Activity: Shows your active time and away(idle) time
• Applications: Shows which application you used, when and for how long
• Tags: Shows tags you created. This timeline is not automatically generated it is filled with time tags you entered.

When you move your mouse over a timeline, each timeline shows you a hint about an underlying activity. Hint displays detailed information about an activity such as title, application name, start and end times and duration.

One of the most usable features is time tagging. Using our simple click and drag feature you can accurately tag time.For example you can easily select time between when you came to work and when you left for lunch break.

Because there is so much data available about your computer usage, you are able to tag time for days in the past. You can also select and tag the time a computer was not running or when you were away(idle).

ManicTime runs in the background on your computer, but does not take much in the way of CPU or memory resources. While the program is not hard to use, the ManicTime website has several video tutorials to get you started quickly.

Operating System: Windows XP, Vista, 2003 Server, 2008 Server
License: Freeware
Version: 1.2
Web Site: http://www.manictime.com/

If you have a lot of memory on your system (over 1 gig for XP, over 2 gigs for Vista) you probably don’t need to worry about free memory to begin with. While Windows does not allocate memory as efficiently as Linux does, it you have enough memory you will seldom, if ever, notice.

If you do not have a lot of memory on your system and want to try a memory manager to see if it helps your system, I have found one memory manager, Cleanmem, that is designed intelligently. It frees memory by using a standard Windows OS system call that tells a program to free all memory that it holding but not currently using. When it runs, it makes a lists of all programs running and sends each program this command. In a second or two, it has freed any memory not actually in use and it has not forced anything to be written to the swap file.

Better yet, Cleanmem does not sit in your system tray where it takes up memory and other system resources. Instead, the Cleanmem install sets Windows Scheduler to run Cleanmem every 30 minutes. While Cleanmem works well out of the box, you can exclude certain programs from having their memory freed by adding them to a text file. You can also stop Cleanmen from clearing the file cache by adding “file cache” to this text file. (Clearing the file cache every 30 minutes probably will slow things down).

Chances are you really don’t need a memory manager, but if you want to try one Cleanmem is the only one I’ve seen that behaves in an intelligent manner and might — on some systems — actually help more than it hurts. Best of all, it’s free.

Operating System: Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008, & Win7 (32bit & 64bit)
Price: Free
Web Site: http://www.pcwintech.com/cleanmem

I recently (April 2009) switched back to booting in XP SP2 as I’m working on a couple of Windows intensive projects. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that the latest version of Andlinux actually works well on my system. Andlinux is a coLinux/Kubuntu 9.04 based version of Linux that runs as a process in Windows. This is much faster than a full emulator like Virtualbox. I had not been able to use AndLinux before as it would suddenly start griding my hard drive for hours on end. It turned out this was caused by Windows System Restore thinking AndLinux’s virtual drive(s) were device drivers and trying to copy them into the restore area. This was fixed with the latest version of AndLinix.

This gives me the best of both worlds: XP and Ubuntu running at the same time on a single decktop. I can even set Windows to run specific file types in a Linux program when I click on them in Explorer. The screenshot below (click on it for a full size version) shows my “XP-AndLinux” desktop with both Linux and Windows programs running.

I will be staying with this setup for some months at least. It works quite well for me so far. I can run almost all existing Windows and Linux software — including DirectX games and applications — on my desktop without the hassle of having a full virtual machine and its overhead running. AndLinux runs as a Windows service so it automatically starts and stops with Windows. This adds a few seconds to boot and shutdown times, but is more convenient that have to start and stop VirtualBox.

During the last 18 months, I have not posted much to this blog because I did not spend much time trying new software and used little Windows software. However, now that I’m using Windows XP SP2 regularly again, I will be making more posts to this blog. I’ve already found a few nifty programs I will be writing about over the next few weeks. A full post on AndLinux will be one of them.

Server2Go is a Webserver that runs out of the box without any installation and on write protected media. This means that web applications based on Server2Go can be used directly from cdrom, a usb stick or from any folder on a hard disk without the hassle of configuring Apache, PHP or MySQL.

Server2Go allows you to create a standalone working web site or PHP application on a CD-ROM. There are many examples of its possible useses such as catalogue software, calculation programmes, image campaigns (CMS-based), computer based training lessons or other applicatons. Most PHP-Software such as the content management system Joomla or the computer based training software Moodle can be used from CD-ROM with the help of Server2Go.

Server2Go was developed in the first instance for use on CD-ROM but there is no problem in using it from other drives too. Using a web browser, a user can run php programs as well as view html files on the CD-ROM. He only needs to insert a CD with Server2Go. The server software starts automatically and a browser is opened with the Website of the CD-ROM.

Server2Go probably comes with all the web server features you will need. Major features include:

• Free! No royalties
• Complete WAMPP Server-Stack
• Runs directly from CD-ROM, USB Stick or Hard disk without installation
• Full featured webserver (based on apache)
• PHP 5.x support
• Supports SQLite databases
• Runs on all versions of Windows from Win 98 and above,
• Support for MySQL 5 Databases
• Supports many PHP extensions (GD-Lib, PDO…) by default
• Support for Perl 5.8

Test
Operating System: Windows 98 or higher
License: Donationware
Price: Free
Web Site: http://www.server2go-web.de/index.html

CHM Reader is a Firefox extension that opens and displays .CHM files. While it is not perfect (text resizing that sticks from page to page would be very nice, for example), it works better than any other CHM file reader I’ve tried for Linux. It will even work when I click on a CHM file in Nautilus after I selected “Open with Other Application” then “Use a custom command” and typed “firefox chm:%U” in the input box.

This extension will work on either Linux or Windows (but apparently not on MacOS). Of course, if you use Windows, you don’t really need it unless you just want to do everything you possibly can in Firefox. However, if you use Linux and still need to use Windows CHM help files (many e-books come in this format, for example), the Firefox CHM Reader extension is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Operating System: Windows and Linux and using Firefox
Price: Free
Web Site: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3235

Tags: firefox, windows, linux, CHM, Compiled Help Files

* Parallelized encryption/decryption on multi-core processors (or multi-processor systems). Increase in encryption/decryption speed is directly proportional to the number of cores and/or processors.

For example, if your computer has a quad-core processor, encryption and decryption will be four times faster than on a single-core processor with equivalent specifications (likewise, it will be twice faster on dual-core processors, etc.)

* Ability to create and run an encrypted hidden operating system whose existence is impossible to prove (provided that certain guidelines are followed). For more information, see the section Hidden Operating System. (Windows Vista/XP/2008/2003)

For security reasons, when a hidden operating system is running, TrueCrypt ensures that all local unencrypted filesystems and non-hidden TrueCrypt volumes are read-only. (Data is allowed to be written to filesystems within hidden TrueCrypt volumes.)

Note: We recommend that hidden volumes are mounted only when a hidden operating system is running. For more information, see the subsection Security Precautions Pertaining to Hidden Volumes.

* On Windows Vista and Windows 2008, it is now possible to encrypt an entire system drive even if it contains extended/logical partitions. (Note that on Windows XP you can encrypt an entire system drive as well, but it must contain only primary partitions.)

* New volume format that increases reliability, performance and expandability:

o Each volume created by this or later versions of TrueCrypt will contain an embedded backup header (located at the end of the volume). Note that it is impossible to mount a volume when its header is damaged (the header contains an encrypted master key). Therefore, embedded backup headers significantly reduce this risk. Also note that a backup header is not a copy of the original volume header because it is encrypted with a different header key derived using a different salt. For more information, see the subsection Tools > Restore Volume Header.

Note: If the user fails to supply the correct password (and/or keyfiles) twice in a row when trying to mount a volume, TrueCrypt will automatically try to mount the volume using the embedded backup header (in addition to trying to mount it using the primary header) each subsequent time that the user attempts to mount the volume (until he or she clicks Cancel). If TrueCrypt fails to decrypt the primary header and then decrypts the embedded backup header successfully (with the same password and/or keyfiles), the volume is mounted and the user is warned that the volume header is damaged (and informed as to how to repair it).

o The size of the volume header area has been increased to 128 KB. This will allow implementation of new features and improvements in future versions and ensures that performance will not be impaired when a TrueCrypt volume is stored on a file system or device that uses a sector size greater than 512 bytes (the start of the data area will always be aligned with the start of a host-filesystem/physical sector).

For more information about the new volume format, see the section TrueCrypt Volume Format Specification.

Note: Volumes created by previous versions of TrueCrypt can be mounted using this version of TrueCrypt.

* Parallelized header key derivation on multi-core processors (one algorithm per core/thread). As a result, mounting is several times faster on multi-core processors. (Windows)

* Ability to create hidden volumes under Mac OS X and Linux.

* On Linux, TrueCrypt now uses native kernel cryptographic services (by default) for volumes encrypted in XTS mode. This increases read/write speed in most cases. However, the FUSE driver must still be used when the volume is encrypted in a deprecated mode of operation (LRW or CBC), or when mounting an outer volume with hidden-volume protection, or when using an old version of the Linux kernel that does not support XTS mode. (Linux)

Operating System: Windows, Linux, MacOS
Price: Free
Web Site: http://www.truecrypt.org/

Tags: truecrypt, windows, linux, freeware, privacy

* OpenXML / DOCX support: Go-oo provides a built-in .docx (MS Office 2007) import filter.
* OpenXML / XLSX support: Go-oo provides a built-in .xlsx (MS Office 2007) import filter.
* OpenXML / PPTX support: Go-oo provides a built-in .pptx (MS Office 2007) import filter.
* SVG support: Go-oo provides a built-in SVG import filter.
* 3D transitions: Go-oo on Linux provides built-in 3D transitions within presentations.
* Rich fields support: Go-oo provides a powerful and interoperable fields implementation with nesting, in-place editing, multiple fonts & nested conditionals.
* Unix systray quick-starter: Go-oo can run in the background for a lightning second start.
* Calc solver: Go-oo has a linear optimization solver that can optimize a cell value based on arbitrary constraints, built into Calc.
* Improved Excel interoperability: Go-oo has improved interoperability with Excel, such as the ability to implicitly convert strings to numbers as context demands.
* VBA support: Go-oo provides VBA macro support for OpenOffice.org.
* GStreamer integration: Go-oo on Linux supports multimedia content using the GStreamer multimedia framework.
* Mono integration: Go-oo allows UNO automation with Mono, permitting automation from many languages such as C#, Boo, and more!
* Text Grid rendering: Go-oo renders Chinese much more pleasantly, using a familiar text grid.
* MS-Works import: Go-oo supports MS-Works files.
* Improved EMF rendering: Go-oo renders EMF+ content, giving a far better view of embedded drawings.
* WordPerfect Graphics import: Go-oo imports graphics in the WordPerfect WPG format which supplements Go-oo’s WordPerfect importer.
* T602 import: Go-oo supports T602 files.

This fork of Office Office looks like it is well worth trying, especially if you need the improved Microsoft Office compatibility.

Operating System: Windows, Linux
Price: Free
Web Site: http://go-oo.org/

Tags: windows, linus, freeware, Go-oo, Open Office fork

Press your chosen hotkey to display the FARR window, then just start typing the first letters of the application you want to launch and the results appear instantly. Hit enter to launch the top result, or refine your search with special modifiers and commands.

FARR also lets you quickly run web searches, send email, manipulate files, control on-screen windows, and much more. Build and share custom commands or install plugins to add tons of new features, like live search features for your clipboard history and your internet bookmarks; a popup a calculator with history tape and persistent variables; and many more.

Some of FARR’s features include:

* Ready to run, right out-of-the-box with no configuration needed.
* The most customizable application of its kind, for those who love to tweak settings.
* Caches programs you launch for instantaneous repeat searches and adaptive scoring.
* Comes with dozens of built-in special alias commands that allow you to perform tons of different web searches and other operations.
* Create and share (xml) alias packs with your friends or download them from our site to add custom commands and menus.
* Install (open source) plugins to add advanced functionality.
* A dozen plugins are available at launch time, including a powerful clipboard monitor and searcher; a live calculator with history tape and persistant variables; a bookmark searcher plugin that supports firefox, internet explorer, and opera; plugins to manage running processes, uninstall programs, change the default printer, control external applications, and more.
* Low system overhead, fully portable and runnable from a USB thumbdrive, and doesn’t mess with your registry.
* Drag+Drop results from the result view; quick right click to access file system properties or advanced functions.
* No file indices are used, so results are always up to date with minimal memory use.
* Choose from dozens of skins and customize the fonts sizes of all graphical elements of the user interface, or turn off skins completely and revert to default Windows user interface. Choose between a compact small-icon mode, or an easy-to-read large icon mode.
* Full directory browsing function with live search filtering — manually browse and locate the files you are looking for.
* Customizable toolbar for common functions and operations (optional; with drag+drop support).
* Automatic updating for main program and plugins (optional).
* Customize hotkey triggers to launch and perform specific searches, or copy selected text to the clipboard at launch .
* Fully documented and actively developed with new features being added regularly based on user requests on the the Donationcoder forum.
* Completely free; Donationcoder signup requested and donation recommended — your donations fund continued development! Donations are not required, however.

A much more detailed list of interesting features and FARR details can be found here. FARR is the best windows “keyboard quick launcher” I’ve ever used. Sadly, there is nothing as powerful written for Linux.

Operating System: Windows
Price: Free
Web Site: http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/findrun/

Tags: free, windows, keyboard launch, keyboard search

No longer. I’ve discovered Snippits, a small Ruby program written by Ben Kudria. According to Ben, “This is Ruby text expansion program – it will type text for you. It uses ‘snippits’, small text files with a simple syntax to determine what to type. However, snippits can be very powerful, since they can contain embedded Ruby, special keys (Control, Shift, Up, etc), and can contain a cursor placement instructions.” It’s not quite as easy to set up (and a bit less handy to use) as AutoHotKey, but it works. I can type “btw”, press F6 (the key can be changed), and “btw” is replaced by “by the way” in just most Linux GUI programs where the feature would be useful.

Operating System: Linux
Price: Free
Web Site: http://ben.kudria.net/code/snippits

Tags: linux, autohotkey, macro, text replacement, freeware