Download HWiNFO32 Portable 4.00 Free

Download HWiNFO32 Portable 4.00 Free

How much RAM memory does my computer have? Which is the exact brand and model of my video card? How fast is my processor?

HWiNFO32 Portable can answer all these questions ? and many others ? relating to the hardware configuration of your computer. HWiNFO32 Portable, which is a standalone application, performs a thorough system analysis and displays a highly detailed report with information about all the components and devices installed on the PC.

HWiNFO32 Portable analyzes all common elements such as processor, memory, mother board, graphics card, hard drives, network devices and more. It also includes a basic benchmarking tool to test the power and speed of different elements on your system ? though nothing as detailed as other more popular benchmarking utilities.

In all, HWiNFO32 Portable is a handy tool that provides you with detailed information in just a couple of clicks, and also enables you to export those reports to several formats: XT, CSV, XML and HTML.

With HWiNFO32 Portable you'll have access to a fully detailed report about the hardware configuration of your computer.

Recent changes

• Enhanced enumerating of SATA drives and respective SMART status reporting.
  
• Improved sensor monitoring across Standby/Resume phases.
  
• Enhanced sensor monitoring on ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX.
  
• Fixed missing bottom menu in sensor window on some systems with lower screen resolution.
  
• Improved enumeration of USB ports and devices.
  
• USB device enumeration is now attached to PCI USB Host Controllers too.
  
• Fixed changing of values in sensor config.
  
• Improved sensor monitoring performance on systems with Sandy Bridge and later CPUs and added reporting of PCH temperature.
  
• Added reporting of driver information for major devices (PCI, USB, GPU, Audio, Network).
  
• Added support of SMSC LPC47M534 sensor.
  
• Updated SMBIOS support to v2.7.1.
  
• Updated reporting of shader count on AMD Southern Islands and London series GPUs.
  
• Enhanced sensor monitoring on ASUS P8H61-I.
  
• Improved reporting of parameters on several AMD GPUs.
  
• Added AMD Bonaire and Oland.

Notes

This is the portable version of HWiNFO32.

Review last updated: 22/06/12

Pros

• Very detailed reports
• No installation required
• Exports to several formats

Cons

• Basic benchmarking tool

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Download Cubemen 1.1 Free

Download Cubemen 1.1 Free

Cubemen is a 3D Good v Evil tower defense style game when little blue men take on little red men in an effort to attack their respective areas.

It's fast and furious with various modes and levels plus a "Skirmish mode" which allows you to play against either the computer or another human opponent. This means you can play a human v human tower defense game in real time. However, there are no static towers like in a normal tower defense game - it's all about invading the opponents area with your little men.

You can move your Cubemen around the board at any time or click on an enemy to target them. There are a bewildering array of levels to choose from including 35 Defense Levels, 25 Skimish Levels, 6 Mayhem Levels and 6 Defense Gameplay modes. You can also play a Cubemen Multiplayer game across platforms, so you can play iPad v Steam etc.

Cubemen is a fun and challenging game that takes an original slant on the tower defense genre.

Review last updated: 04/07/12

Pros

• Original tower defense game
• Lots of levels and challenges
• Fast and furious
• Requires lots of strategic thinking

Cons

• No developer site or support

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Download Filter Forge 3.0 Free

Download Filter Forge 3.0 Free

Filter Forge is designed to help you create stunning filters as a high-end plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. It allows you to build your own filters, textures, visual effects, distortions, patterns, backgrounds, and frames in a few clicks. The key features of Filter Forge include a visual filter editor and a free online library of 6000+ user-created filters to which anyone can contribute.

If you're a dab hand with Photoshop then creating filters is something you'll be familiar with but if you're not, you might need a helping hand which is what Filter Forge aims to do. Filter Forge's interface is simple enough to use even for beginners. You can use it either within Photoshop or as a standalone plugin.

What makes Filter Forge stand out from most average plugins are three main features. The obvious one is that via the simple editor, you can create your own filters. Although it is quite straightforward with an excellent user guide, Filter Forge still requires some knowledge of creating filters to be used effectively. Note that all filters support 16- and 32-bit modes only in Photoshop.

Additionally, Filter Forge is very much a user oriented application. There are thousands of free filters created by other users and if you become a contributor yourself, you receive the full version of Filter Forge absolutely free. It's not clear how good your filters have to be to qualify but it seems like generally anything goes.

Filter Forge is an excellent filter creation tool with a strong community spirit that will enhance your Photoshop creations.

Review last updated: 29/06/12

Pros

• Works within Photoshop or as a standalone app
• Lots of user generated filters
• Full version free for those who contribute filters

Cons

• Requires some knowledge of filter creation
• No 64 bit support

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Download Disk Health Monitor 2.0.9 Free

Download Disk Health Monitor 2.0.9 Free

Disk Health Monitor is a diminutive application that sits in your system tray and helps you monitor any errors or problems your hard drives may be having.

Data loss is never fun so taking preventative measures can help you save your valuable data. Besides performing regular backups, you should also have an application that monitors any problems with your disks.

Disk Health Monitor not only monitors any problems with your hard drives but it can also send you alerts via e-mail if anything goes wrong. This assumes that Disk Health Monitor can still run on a failing hard drive or is detecting a failure on an external drive.

The application interface is simple and after you install it, you only need to configure it once and forget about it. Rest assured knowing that Disk Health Monitor is watching over your disks.

Overall, Disk Health Monitor is a lightweight application that is good at detecting basic problems with your hard drives.

Review last updated: 11/07/12

Pros

• Sends email alerts
• Simple interface
• Lightweight app

Cons

• Can't detect all hard drive problems
• Lacks features to fix simple problems

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Download MicroVolts Free

Download MicroVolts Free

MicroVolts is a fast paced cartoon style third person shooter, where the goal is to beat your opponents online by collecting batteries and making kills.

You play toys with guns in MicroVolts, in a variety of colorful maps, like bedroom desks, gardens and wild west sets. It's totally cartoon violence, with players exploding into toy parts when they die.

MicroVolts is hardly original, with a style reminiscent of Team Fortress, but it's pulled off with fun and some nice arena design that make it enjoyable. The game modes too are pretty standard, but it's very acessible, with simple controls and an excellent tutorial.

Killed players leave battery energy or bullets for you to collect to boost your health and ammunition. There are seven weapons to use in game, which cover just about any play style you could imagine. The speed of MicroVolts is such that you'll always be rotating through the weapons as you need them.

MicroVolts looks good, and its frenetic pace make it an ideal game to jump into occasionally. It may not have the depth to keep your attention for too long, but it's definitely worth downloading and trying out.

Review last updated: 16/07/12

Pros

• Easy to get into
• Fast and fun
• Good graphics and presentation

Cons

• Lacks depth

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Download Noise Ninja Photoshop plugin 2.4.2 Free

Download Noise Ninja Photoshop plugin 2.4.2 Free

Noise Ninja is an effective Photoshop plugin which enables you to remove noise and distortions from digital photographs and scanned film images.

It's particularly useful for those who shoot in low-light or fast-action footage such as news, sports and general event coverage where high ISO photography is used. The problem with such ISO photography is the resulting noise which Noise Ninja can significantly help in reducing.

Of course, Noise Ninja requires Photoshop and editing with Noise Ninja is what is known as "destructive" editing which means that it's not as kind on images as using Photoshop directly but most users report the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Noise Ninja is an excellent Photoshop plugin for all those that need to remove noise from high ISO images.

Recent changes

• Fixes the "Could not complete the command because there is not enough memory (RAM)" Photoshop error. (this error occurred because of interaction with another 3rd party plug-in)
  
• Certain key sequences could cause Noise Ninja to stop updating the preview window. This has been fixed.

Review last updated: 12/07/12

Pros

• Removes noise from images in Photoshop
• Sharpens Photoshop images

Cons

• Requires Photoshop

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Download ACDSee Pro Photo Manager 5.3.168 Free

Download ACDSee Pro Photo Manager 5.3.168 Free

ACDSee Pro Photo Manager helps you organize and keep track of all of the photographs and other images you have on your PC.

ACDSee Pro Photo Manager includes a useful set of tools that allow you to classify images according to self-created categories, ratings and "auto categories" that are based on the image's EXIF data. A nice search tool is also included - simply enter the first few letters of the file's name and ACDSee Pro Photo Manager will find it in seconds. This is quite a useful feature, as is the ACDSee Pro Photo Manager Help system, which seems fairly complete.

Among some of ACDSee Pro Photo Manager's strong points are the ability to perform batch operations and an interesting develop option that allows you to safely tweak your photos' specifications. ACDSee Pro Photo Manager is also configured to make the most of internet functionality, with good email and online sharing options, including the ability to upload directly to Flickr.

The developers of ACDSee Pro Photo Manager have vastly improved the installation process in this newest version. Unfortunately, you still have to enter your email address to receive an unlock access code to the trial version, which might annoy some users. The interface is a bit cluttered too, and can be confusing when you first get started. The interface includes directory tree structure on the left, the selected folder's contents in the central pane and a handy options menu on the right to categorize, tag and rate your pictures.

ACDSee Pro Photo Manager may appear a bit overwhelming at first, but it is actually a very comprehensive photo management option.

Recent changes

• Photo Developing:
  
• Smarter Sharpening:
  
• • A new user-controlled edge detection mask slider lets you focus the sharpening effect more to edges and textures than non-textured areas.
  
• Split-toning:
  
• • Take your photos to the edge in either Develop or Edit mode using split-toning to create sepia or tinted black & white, Or add a tinted color to highlights and another to shadows to create a dramatic toning effect.
  
• 
  
• Photo Editing:
  
• Dodge and Burn:
  
• • Target shadows, midtones or highlights for lightening or darkening with the Dodge and Burn tool, or selectively add vibrance, saturate or desaturate areas of interest.
  
• 
  
• Drawing Tools:
  
• • Put your photos to work for you using drawing tools to add lines and shapes such as squares, circles and arrows to draw attention to certain elements in your image. You can also adjust the width, feathering and blending of your brush to create subtle or dramatic drawing effects.
  
• Special Effects:
  
• Apply and fine-tune a range of pre-set effects quickly and easily with the Special Effects palette, now including:
  
• Lomo Effect:
  
• • Apply the popular Lomo effect to give an edgy, retro feel to your photos.
  
• Collage Effect:
  
• • Creatively display your photo in a collage of prints.
  
• Orton Effect:
  
• • Give an ethereal, pastel-like touch to your portraits and landscapes.
  
• 
  
• Workflow:
  
• Color Labels:
  
• • Use color labels to quickly identify groups within a large number of photos for processing. As your review your photos, quickly mark ones for different stages of your workflow. For example, assign files to color labels you have named such as upload, print, reject, develop or edit and then click a color label in the Organize pane to quickly display all of the files assigned to that label. Or use them in combination with the Group by, or Filter By features to refine your list. Color labels, like tagging, categories and ratings, are a way to set aside, organize, and group your photos without moving them into different folders.
  
• Batch Export Tool:
  
• • Save a group of photos to your specifications faster than ever with the updated ACDSee Pro 5 Batch Export tool. The batch export tool allows you to create presets for easily exporting groups of files to specified folders, file names, formats, colour spaces and dimensions.
  
• Remove Metadata:
  
• • Use the Remove Metadata tool to keep your proprietary information private by stripping EXIF and IPTC metadata to protect the details of your locations, camera settings and equipment choices.

Review last updated: 12/07/12

Pros

• Excellent range of editing and sorting functions
• Good tagging options
• RAW editing enabled
• Advanced color options

Cons

• Interface can appear cluttered
• Registration process is lengthy

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Download Timeline Remove 0.9.8 (Internet Explorer) Free

Download Timeline Remove 0.9.8 (Internet Explorer) Free

Timeline Remove is an extension for Internet Explorer that removes the Timeline view of your Facebook profile and restores the classic look.

Not everyone's a huge fan of the changes Facebook has introduced recently. Timeline is one of the latest alterations made to Facebook's user interface. It transforms all of your posts into an organized chronology based on the year posted. It also allows you to choose a large background picture to display at the top of your profile page and behind your profile picture.

If you're one of Facebook's users who isn't thrilled with this new change, give Timeline Remove a try. Once installed, this extension for Internet Explorer restore the classic profile appearance for you. Timeline Remove is easy to install and a great way to get back to the look you prefer on Facebook.

Unfortunately, Timeline Remove only changes the appearance of profile pages for those who have the extension. That means your friends and family who haven't installed this extension will still be able to see your Timeline while you're enjoying the classic look on your end.

Say good-bye to Facebook's Timeline interface in seconds thanks to Timeline Remove for Internet Explorer!

Pros

• Works instantly
• Eliminates your view of Timeline

Cons

• Works on profiles, but not pages
• Changes are only visible to you

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Download Muso 1.4.28 Free

Download Muso 1.4.28 Free

Muso is a tool that lets users browse and sort through their music library.

It's difficult to define a program like Muso. It's not a music player, nor is it a playlist manager. Instead, it can be viewed more as an alternative way to manage and organize your music collection.

First, import your music into Muso. Users can do this by either selecting individual files or folders on their hard drive or else by selecting their iTunes or Winamp library. This will ultimately allow you to manage your collection in a far more flexible way.

Muso lets you browse complete albums or individual songs, and also sort or filter music by artist, year, rating and more. There's also an advanced tagging system many users will appreciate. Muso not only has the ability to group albums under the same artists, despite any spelling differences, it also offers support for mood tags. Also included is album artwork and artist information downloaded from Last.fm, Wikipedia and Amazon.

Note that Muso itself is not a music player, although it can be linked to third party players like iTunes and Winamp. This in may be a downside for many users who won't like the idea of needing to use two programs to enjoy their music collection. There's also no real social features that would allow users to connect with other friends using Muso.

Overall, Muso works great as an alternative interface to browse and sort your music collection, if you're willing to use a third party player to actually listen to songs.

Pros

• Support for iTunes and Winamp libraries
• Excellent tagging system to organize and browse music
• Extra information about artists from Last.fm, Wikipedia and Amazon

Cons

• Lacks advanced playback functionality
• No social features

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Download K-Lite Codec Pack Update 9.5.5 Free

Download K-Lite Codec Pack Update 9.5.5 Free

The K-Lite Codec Pack 9.5.2 update will install updated drivers into the K-Lite Codec Pack 9.1 version of the program.

This update includes:

Updated Media Player Classic Home Cinema to version 1.6.5.6237
Updated LAV Filters to version 0.53.2-8-g7fd402c
Updated DirectVobSub to xy-VSFilter version 3.0.0.211
Fixed a problem that could result in subtitles failing to load

These new installations will ensure that any broken codecs are repaired and optimized for useability.

Recent changes

• Updated Media Player Classic Home Cinema to version 1.6.5.6237
  
• Updated LAV Filters to version 0.53.2-8-g7fd402c
  
• Updated DirectVobSub to xy-VSFilter version 3.0.0.211
  
• Fixed a problem that could result in subtitles failing to load

Review last updated: 21/11/12

Pros

• Updates K-Lite Codec to 9.5.2

Cons

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Download PowerBK 2.4.8 Free

Download PowerBK 2.4.8 Free

PowerBK is an e-book reader that helps you organize your collection.

If you're an avid ebook reader, you probably know you don't have to have your e-reader handy in order to actually access and enjoy your ebook library.

Similar to Calibre, PowerBK lets you sort through your ebook library from your PC's desktop. It offers a lot of great ways to search and later sort your books. You can look for books in your collections by author, title, ISBN number and more. In addition, PowerBK can manage the information stored in your book's data fields, such as location, number of pages, publication year, plus its cover art.

PowerBK also offers Google Books integration and a password protection feature that allows you to keep your dara secure. There are also a variety of different file formats in which you can export your book's data with PowerBK, including .txt, .doc and .pdf.

Unfortunately, PowerBK's interface is quite confusing for first timers to navigate. It's also very plain looking, which might turn off other users who want a sleek looking interface during their reading experience.

PowerBK is a solid ebook organizer, if you can get past the cluttered, confusing and plain looking interface.

Review last updated: 23/07/12

Pros

• Search for books in a variety of different ways
• Integration with Google Books

Cons

• Interface is pretty plain
• Some sections in Italian on the English version
• Lots of screens to go through on setup

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Download Roboscan Internet Security Free 2.5 Free

Download Roboscan Internet Security Free 2.5 Free

Roboscan Internet Security Free is an antivirus, anti-adware, and firewall all rolled in an easy to use program.

Roboscan Internet Security Free's interface is simple and easy to understand. The most important alerts are given to you immediately. If anything requires an action, an exclamation mark will appear. There are three options for scanning your system: 'Quick,' 'Basic,' and 'Advanced' scan. You can schedule scans so your computer won't be slowed down during a scan.

Performance of Roboscan Internet Security Free is good. Scans were fairly quick and the real time protection detected lots of adware and tracking cookies. Roboscan uses the robust BitDefender scanning engine. The real time protection of Roboscan Internet Security Free is a bit aggressive when detecting adware but there is an 'Excluded Items' list.

Users can specify what folders are to be scanned during an 'Advanced' scan or Roboscan Internet Security Free can scan the entire computer. Roboscan Internet Security Free also includes a basic Firewall, which will be more than enough for the average user. There's also a file shredder within the app to make deleted files unrecoverable.

Roboscan Internet Security Free is ad-supported but the ads are non-obtrusive. Paid versions get PC optimization features and no ads. The enterprise version has the ability to implement changes to security policies over the network.

Roboscan Internet Security Free features a great antivirus scanning engine and real time protection in this free, impressive app.

Review last updated: 24/07/12

Pros

• Realtime protection
• Effective finding viruses and adware
• Speedy scans

Cons

• Enormous download

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Download Direct Folders 3.7 Free

Download Direct Folders 3.7 Free

Those of us who work with the PC on a daily basis usually waste too much time browsing through the file structure in Windows just to find a given file or select the appropriate location to save a document.

Fortunately now there's Direct Folders: a simple yet highly functional tool that works as a Windows Explorer enhancement and lets you access your more frequently used folders from any standard file dialog in the system, and also from Windows Explorer itself. You can launch Direct Folders in several ways: from the program's icon on the System Tray or simply by left double clicking on any empty area in the desktop, Windows Explorer or any open/save file dialog.

The folder menu is easily customizable with your favorite folders in the program's settings menu. Plus, this same menu enables you to take advantage of other Direct Folders functions, such as enlarging file dialogs to make them easier to use and customizing the folders that appear on the places bar along the left side of Windows open/save file dialogs.

On the downside, the program still keeps some of its goodies for a pro version. In any case, this free version doesn't feel crippled at all and helps a lot when browsing your system's file structure.

With Direct Folders you can improve the way you work with Windows File Explorer in several ways: quick access for folders, larger file dialogs and customizable places bars.

Recent changes

• Added: Changing 'Load at Windows startup' option without admin rights.
  
• Fixed: Auto set view modes under Windows Vista/7.
  
• Fixed: Detecting currently open Explorer windows.
  
• Fixed: Showing path of current executable for 64bit apps.
  
• Added: Support for Total Commander 8.01rc4

Review last updated: 26/07/12

Pros

• Several ways to open the program
• Very intuitive, totally customizable

Cons

• Some Explorer tweaks are reserved for a Pro version

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Download Guild Wars 2 Free

Download Guild Wars 2 Free

Guild Wars 2 is one of the most anticipated game sequels of the year. The biggest questions about this MMORPG are: is it better than the first? will it be a real MMORPG?, and will it still be free online once purchased? The answer to all three is 'yes', and regarding being better than Guild Wars, we can happily report it is much better.

You begin your quest by choosing a race, from Sylvari, Norn, Asura and Charr. Like Star Wars The Old Republic, these choices are not just aesthetic, since your choice will affect much of the subsequent story too. The professions (classes), are the same as in Guild Wars, and offer the same variety, but they are much more tactical than before.

Guild Wars 2 stands out as being a challenging MMORPG. It's not as easy to climb the XP ladder as players are used to in World of Warcraft or The Old Republic. It takes time and skill to grow your character, and a great part of this is how Guild Wars 2 has removed the repetitive 'grind' missions that litter so many similar games. Missions in Guild Wars 2 make sense for the overall story, so you won't have to go and hunt 100 boars in the search for experience points.

Another innovation is how you can play together. No planning is needed - you can simply join in a battle or event as you see it. Early on you'll see how much more social Guild Wars 2 is, and how much more of the game you spend playing with other players.

Technically, Guild Wars 2 is excellent. The graphics and sound are fantastic throughout, although you'll need a powerful PC to get the most out of them.

Guild Wars 2 is an excellent MMORPG. It makes great innovations in the genre, which make it really accessible and fun to play. The story is great too, and really motivates you to keep playing. Finally we have a game that shakes off the traditions of World of Warcraft, and moves online fantasy role play forward. Essential.

Notes

The download link will take you to the Guild Wars 2 store, where you can purchase and download the game

Review last updated: 05/09/12

Pros

• Original features that improve the MMO genre
• Spectacular graphics
• Dynamic events
• Great story

Cons

• Some problems with lag

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Download Prototype 2 Free

Download Prototype 2 Free

Prototype 2 is much better than we hoped. It has a strong story line and a protagonist you can empathize with, but more than that, the gameplay has improved in every way, making this perhaps the most solid sandbox game available. Prototype 2 is a great game.

You play Sgt James Heller, a soldier who has shape-shifting powers. A deadly virus has swept through New York, killing your family and leaving you nothing to live for, except to kill the man you blame for their death - Alex Mercer, the protagonist of the first Prototype.

Prototype 2's New York Zero is split into areas, depending on the level of viral infection. There's green, which should be safe, yellow, which is poor and full of shanty towns, where the virus can be found, and red, where the virus is rampant. You'll do missions in all of these areas, on your way to confront Alex Mercer. By consuming other people, Sgt James Heller can assume their identities and read their memories.

Heller's powers are what make Prototype 2 so much fun - leaping, climbing and flying around the city is excellent, and the combat is varied and never gets boring. As the challenge increases, you'll need better tactics and more variety to overcome the enemies and bosses you'll meet. Infiltration of enemy compounds is also enjoyable, as you try to consume and take on the appearance of different people out of view of others. Your available options increase as you progress, for example, turning a soldier into a biological bomb... don't forget that Prototype 2 is a game with an 18 rating for a reason!

Heller is an engaging character, with some excellent and often funny speech throughout the game. Prototype 2's sound in general is excellent, with some pretty gruesome sound effects. There are some nice graphic touches too. New York looks really good, and is filled with life and detail that makes it a convincing environment to navigate. Helicopters and tanks in Prototype 2 look fantastic, especially as you're tearing them to pieces!

Overall, Prototype 2 is a huge improvement over the enjoyable original. There are occasional moments of monotony in some missions, but in general, developer Radical Entertainment has learned from its mistakes. It's one of the most enjoyable sandboxes in recent years, fleshed out with a compelling storyline, charismatic characters and some really impressive graphics. Not to be missed.

Notes

The Steam app is required to purchase and play this game

Pros

• Better in ever way than Prototype
• Well developed story
• Better organised powers
• Huge amount to do in the game

Cons

• Occasional missions are dull
• Some boss fights are too tough

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