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Can't Live without Apps and Utilities This allows you to maintain a catalog of on-line and off-line sources where every folder and file can be cross-indexed under a free-form set of categories and sub-categories. In this manner, you can find the file under any of the indexing pathways that you categorized your entry under. Maintain all those CD's, disk images, and third party resource libraries in addition to all your online and backup hard disk, and be able to search through them in seconds...A real lifesaver for me saving hundreds of hours searching what you already have. How many times are you in the middle of deleting (cleaning up) or moving some file and you receive that nasty error saying that some other file or application is still using the file? This is because of Windows file protection, and often the application they reference is not apparent to you. This utility allows you to temporarily disable this problem by determining the offending application and offering to close it for you. Freeware lifesaver Create a bootable XP or Windows 2003 Server CD boot disk - Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD - freeware - this allows you easy recovery and diagnostics. Combined with the article following recovers you from most basic system errors 10 things you can do when Windows XP won't boot When I first read this article I thought it would contain all the standard stuff - but it actually reveals also - how to create a XP startup diskette with only 3 files, the finer points of recovery console - beyond the command line - (fix corrupt Boot.ini, Partition boot sector, master boot record) see all startup, run programs from startup and registry - freeware
Voice, Video, and desktop Conferencing Skype services and client are free for PC to PC calls and until the end of 2006, all call in the US are free from Skype to any regular phone (not just pc to pc) - AND it is AS GOOD if not BETTER than a regular phone line and SECURE. It also offers reasonably high quality fast video in addition to the phone call. ------------- Google Talk is Google's chat client. ---------- Festoon is an application that 'plugs' into both Skype and Google Talk to add Video conferencing (a bit slow if high quality) support and desktop sharing. And AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), just recently added their new "Triton" line to the Classic 5.9 verison - and both offer video chat - conferencing (no desktop sharing yet). Thus you now have many free options. Skype with Festoon if you need desktop sharing (very nice and fast), Microsoft's Netmeeting (a bit slower), Google Talk with Festoon (most popular but slowest of the three), or either of AIM's offerings but without desktop sharing Psi-Jabber & Messenger Aggregation Everyone is familiar with Trillian, the package that integrated AIM. MSN, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger and IRC. Then comes along Meebo that provides a web interface, includes AIM/ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger (IRC?) and adds Jabber/GTalk. Jabber has it's own preferred integration (Psi) that you can use to add all the other names to GTalk that provides an open architecture to easily add more protocols in the future as well as provide support for many private conferencing systems - Here are the instructions to get GTalk 'talking' to your other messengers.. The only messenger that Jabber or any other aggregator does not currently integrate with is Skype. |