Sat, 25 May 2013 10:02:45 +0000 http://www.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Well, you just can't trust all those programs. I'm not talking about malicious software which represents the highest risk, but more about the changes made to your system by programs' installers. They add files to existing directories such as "dll" files into your "System" folder, they change system settings, tweak the Registry and the list can continue.
I'm expecting you to say now: "then what does Add/Remove programs stand for, if not to uninstall all those programs?" Well, quite often programs' uninstallers can leave behind files and registry keys which can slow down your computer noticeably. To solve those problems that can occur when you install/uninstall several programs, I recommend you to use JetClean.
JetClean removes unused/old entries and empty registry values, including file extensions and nonexistent paths, compacts your registry by reducing fragment, repairs structural errors, cleans temp files, history and cookies from major browsers as well as other third party programs.
Moreover, JetClean scans and displays all the programs installed on your PC and helps you identify any unwanted software/application/program or those are corrupted as a result of being half-installed/uninstalled incorrectly. It can also, identify all startup programs running in the background,  remove unwanted programs from startup list, and restore them anytime you want.
Pros: One-click clean and PC tune-up, improves PC performance.
Cons: Some features are only in the paid version.
Conclusion: JetClean is a simple application which can help you keep your operating system in a good shape. It can also optimize the speed of your Internet connection by optimizing browser performance and helps you get the maximum capacity out of your PC. If needed, you can optimize memory usage to increase available physical memory.]]>

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:29:18 +0000 Thu, 16 May 2013 09:29:18 +0000 http://jetclean.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Scarab Darkroom is a digital camera file converter with support for over 100 different camera models.  Many digital cameras can take pictures and save them directly as a JPG or other compressed file format, but doing so really limits your ability with what you can do to the file, post production.  Many cameras have their own native formats, often called RAW.  Most image editing apps don't support them out of the box. Scarab Darkroom does.
The compression algorithm in JPG's is popular as a storage format – files are usually small and easily transported from one computing system to another.  JPG's are also very popular with web sites like Facebook , Flickr, and Shutterbug.  However, when you try to tweak a JPG, you lose a lot of information and detail.
Scarab Darkroom provides support and tools for editing RAW files directly.  It allows you to edit fill light, brightness, contrast and black levels and provides a way to edit simple tone curve adjustments.  You can also tweak color temperatures and gives you the ability to pick white balance from a gray area in the picture, among other editing options.  When you're done, it provides a lightning fast conversion with excellent detail rendition using a proprietary demosaic algorithm. Basic editing options – crop, resize, etc. are also supported.App Pro’s: Free.
App Con’s: Freemium options only.
Conclusion: Scarab Darkroom is a decent application. Its support for many RAW file formats from Nikon, Sony, Canon, Olympus, Panasonic and others is something that can provide value to a great many enthusiasts.  The anticipated Pro version is said to have all of the freemium features as well as others including more color controls, a grayscale mixer and noise reduction, among others.  A Mac version is also anticipated next year.]]>

Thu, 09 May 2013 06:48:00 +0000 Thu, 09 May 2013 06:48:00 +0000 http://scarab-darkroom.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Most everything that computes today is wireless.  There's more wireless networks broadcasting signals near where you are right now than you might think. The problem is, connecting to a network you're authorized to connect to isn't always easy. Its for this reason that apps like insider are an important part of any Windows utility toolbox.
inSSIDer for Home helps you measure the signal strength of available Wi-Fi signals and networks and attempts to estimate their performance. The app can show you how walls, stairways, and doors affect your wireless network coverage, and can most likely help you choose the best place to put your wireless router, access point or signal repeater.
All Wi-Fi must share channels with other electronic devices, including other wireless networks and signals.  If there are too many networks sharing or overlapping a channel, your network speed and performance can suffer. inSSIDer helps you find the best channel for your Wi-Fi network.
Many local governments and municipalities may require your Wi-Fi signal to be secured.  Running your wireless network wide open so that anyone can use it isn't really a good idea.  If you have a bandwidth cap, it can easily be exceeded.  There have also been reports of people hacking corporate networks with unsecured Wi-Fi signals.  Securing your network is important, and inSSIDer can help you set and determine which security settings your Wi-Fi is using, reducing the risk of unauthorized access into your home network.
App Pro’s: Works with Windows Vista to Windows 8
App Con’s: Doesn't list all support file requirements and doesn't auto install those that are missing, Won’t install in Parallels
Conclusion: iSSIDer is an interesting app. I wish I had something like this on the Mac side of the world. Its displays are cool, and provide you with the information it needs to get your network running well. I had a great deal of trouble installing the software however, especially on my Windows 8 machines (I have two...) It failed to install on both of them. The app requires .NET Framework to run, but does not include the components as part of the installation file, and it needs to.]]>

Tue, 07 May 2013 06:55:57 +0000 Tue, 07 May 2013 06:55:57 +0000 http://inssider.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Its time to take a break...I think. At least, that's what I think I remember... This is one of the reasons why taking a break is important. When you do take a break, you just might like Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It’s a first person adventure game for Windows.
Amnesia is an first person shooter adventure game. The game allows for physics-based puzzles and interactions such as opening doors and fixing machinery. In-game objects are operated by toggle. To open a door, for instance, you hold down a mouse button and then push (or pull) the mouse. This gives you stealth, allowing you to peek out a barely-opened door or to open it slowly and sneak away. This also adds a degree of difficulty to the game as it is now possible to push open a "pull" door while something tries to sneak up behind you.
Health is not the only attribute indicator displayed in the game. You also have to manage your sanity. For example, being in dark too long, witnessing unsettling events, or staring at monsters will reduce your sanity, causing hallucinations, which in turn will and draw the attention of more monsters. Light sources help restore your sanity, and if none are available, you can use a tinderbox to ignite candles. You can also light an oil-burning lantern found near the beginning of the game. Unfortunately, tinderboxes and oil are both limited; and standing in a light source also makes the player easier to spot by monsters.
If a monster spots you, you must flee. Amnesia have any weapons. You have to find hiding places or barricade doors with rocks, chairs, etc. Unfortunately, monsters are able to tear down doors and to kick obstacles out of the way. They're also fast once they've spotted you. Players can also choose to hide in the shadows, but again, if you hide in the shadows, you risk loosing sanity points.
App Pro’s: cool scenery and graphics, the game makes you think.
App Con’s: No weapons.
Conclusion: Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a cool looking game. The graphics are really well done, and the story line is mostly interesting. The game doesn't provide you with any weapons, so if you want to survive, you're going to have to think on your feet.]]>

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:59:04 +0000 Tue, 30 Apr 2013 06:59:04 +0000 http://amnesia-the-dark-descent.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Creativity is an awesome outlet. Some of my most relaxing times are when I am busy creating something, be that writing, drawing, sculpting or painting. As computers are one of my most favorite things, being able to combine my creativity with my love of technology is pretty cool. Its for this reason that I really like Cinema 4D Studio. It’s a graphics tool for your Windows PC.
Cinema 4D Studio is a great tool for professional, 3D artists. If you want to create advanced 3D graphics but need a helping hand, then this may be a great choice for you. Cinema 4D Studio adds advanced character tools, hair, a physics engine and an unlimited client network for rendering. The results can be stunning. Cinema 4D Studio can tackle just about any project you throw at.
Cinema 4D Studio's character tools make it easy to create character rigs and advanced character animations. Adding hair or fur to characters is fast and simple. You can easily grow, comb, style and animate hair and fur easily. The physics engine makes it simple to perform complex collisions and interaction between any number of objects.
One of the app's best features is Network rendering. As any graphic artist knows, rendering can take quite a long time, even on the more advanced and more powerful computers available today. Network rendering allows you to take advantage of all computers on your network and can help render your animations faster.
App Pro’s: network rendering, physics engine
App Con’s: Application download is LARGE (just over 2GB), Outrageously expensive
Conclusion: While Cinema 4D Studio is designed for advanced 3D, the extra tools found in it are still user-friendly and intuitive. Generating advanced 3D affects such as hair is pretty easy and fast. The app does much of the work for you. For example, hair will automatically swoosh and sway as you move your character around; and making thousands of objects collide with each other only takes a few mouse clicks to set up.
While the app may be great, its completely out the consumer price range at nearly $4000 USD, as of this writing. Unless you're a serious graphic artist, or unless this app is something that your company can purchase for you, this isn't something a regular user will purchase.]]>

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:55:31 +0000 Tue, 23 Apr 2013 07:55:31 +0000 http://cinema-4d.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

PC security is probably the most important issue you'll bump into today. One of the most important things you need to do to keep your computer safe is to track and secure all of your passwords.  This is probably the biggest reason why I like applications like KeePass. It’s a password manager for Windows.
Today, nearly everything you do on your computer has a password that you need to remember for it. Windows has a network logon, your e-mail account, your website's FTP password, and then there are countless online passwords for websites, like your bank, Facebook, and Twitter. The list is endless. You should also use different passwords for each account. Because if you use only one password everywhere and someone gets it, you have a serious problem.
KeePass is a free, secure password manager that helps you to manage your passwords. You can put all your passwords in one database and lock them with one master key or a key file. With KeePass, you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole AES and Twofish encrypted database.
App Pro’s: Free
App Con’s: None
Conclusion: KeePass is a pretty cool app. While there are a lot of password safes out there, KeePass is free, and very easy to use. It you don't have an app of this type, then its probably a good idea to give this one some very serious consideration. Having your accounts hacked is not cool; and forgetting your password to an infrequently used, but important, asset is problematic. KeePass keeps track of them all, and does it for the right price.]]>

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:16:51 +0000 Mon, 22 Apr 2013 08:16:51 +0000 http://keepass.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

I like watching movies on the go. I take them with me wherever I go. When I do have them, I really like to use VSO Media Player to view them. It’s a multimedia player for Windows.
VSO Media Player will play videos, Blu-ray discs, DVD's and audio files without having to install any additional, external codecs. The fact that most everything that you need is included is nice, and somewhat expected in today's modern, multimedia age.  However, it is nice to know that it will support just about any media you throw at it, including DVD and AVCHD .ISO files.
VSO Media Player not only supports Blu-ray and DVD ISO files, but its support extends beyond that. It also allows you to plug in additional decryption support, from AnyDVD, for instance.  Its also a decent media management tool.  VSO Media Player can manage  your media collection.  It can create and edit playlists as well as Edit the settings of Text subtitles: font, color, size, etc.
App Pro’s: Free
App Con’s: Not as full featured as paid players
Conclusion: VSO Media Player is extra light and easy to use. It has a lot more support for hardware and software acceleration than I thought it would, given its pay model.  While there's a great deal to like about this player, including its Blu-ray support, its really a simple player and organizer. If you're looking for something to get you buy, this is an excellent choice. If you're looking for something more advanced, you might want to look at the paid version or at something else, though it does have support for multi-cored processors, an audio booster and the ability to switch between GDI and Direct3D.]]>

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:33:36 +0000 Tue, 16 Apr 2013 07:33:36 +0000 http://vso-media-player.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Gaming can obviously be a lot of fun. One of the biggest draws for some games is the ability to create your own levels.  This is one of the reasons why games like Ace of Spades are cool. It’s a game for Windows that just might be for you.
Ace of Spades is a voxel-based build-and-shoot video game, similar in to Minecraft and Team Fortress 2. It features game modes such as team death match, capture the flag, base infiltration, zombie defense, and diamond mining. The best part of it is its sandbox construction elements.  It enables players to construct defensive structures or to dig trenches, to achieve the goals of the current game mode. 
Players can choose between four classes of player characters – the Commando, with either a rocket launcher or a mini-gun and a pistol; the Marksman, with a sniper rifle and a pistol; the Rocketeer, with a submachine gun and a jetpack; or the Miner, with an auto-drill cannon and a shotgun. Shovels and pickaxes can be used as melee weapons or to destroy blocks.  Other weapons are available to each player class as well.App Pro’s: Different player classes and weapons, sandbox mode to construct your own levels.
App Con’s: Blocky graphics aren't for everyone.
Conclusion: Ace of Spades is an ok video game.  The plus sides are its multiplayer classes and its ability to allow players to create their own levels and structures.  You really have to want to do this, as the game doesn't offer much more.  I'm not a big fan and it has a lot to do with the graphics style used throughout the game. If the graphics were a bit different and if it did a bit more, I might be interested, but then again, I'm not a big Minecraft fan, either.]]>

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:15:53 +0000 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 07:15:53 +0000 http://ace-of-spades.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Keeping your movie collection together can be a challenge at times. You want to play them where you want them, and sometimes, that's difficult. This is one of the reasons why having an application like Full DVD Ripper is really cool. It’s a multimedia tool for Windows and best of all, its free.
Full DVD Ripper rips DVD's to just about any format you could want or need including AVI, MPEG, WMV, DivX, MP4, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, RM, MOV, XviD, and 3GP. It also rips DVD audio into MP3, WMA, WAV, RA, M4A, AAC, AC3, or OGG files, making them fit iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, or your mobile phone or other digital device. This software also lets you edit and clip video size, change image effects, and add watermarks/ subtitles/ soundtracks.
Full DVD Ripper's editing options are cool – you can cut clips, merge clips with transitional effects, crop selected scenes, add subtitles and soundtracks and attach watermarks. You can also set the target file size before conversion and even run Full DVD Ripper in the background to save resources.  It can even shutdown, exit, standby or hibernate your PC when it’s done with its specific set of tasks.
App Pro’s: Free
App Con’s: None
Conclusion: The best thing about Full DVD Ripper is that you can now enjoy your DVD collection on the multimedia player of your choice.  The app supports formats for your iDevice, PSP, PS3, BlackBerry, iRiver PMP, Windows Mobile phone, or Xbox.]]>

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:39:32 +0000 Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:39:32 +0000 http://full-dvd-ripper-free.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Storage.  Your computer lives off of it. Room for your operating system. Room for your data. Room for temporary and work files. Without enough storage, you won't be able to run your computer the way you want.  In order to keep your hard drive in working order, you need the right monitoring utilities.  CrystalDiskInfo is a hard drive monitoring utility for Windows that gives you this awesome capability.
CrystalDiskInfo displays basic HDD information, monitors S.M.A.R.T. values, and disk temperature.  When monitored drives start to fall out of acceptable ranges or values, the app can send you alerts via email.  You can then come back to the monitored computer and check its status.
In order to help you monitor its stats, the app offers a variety of tools and monitors including rotation speeds, temperature settings and S.M.A.R.T information.  You can also monitor and control AAM/APM settings.
App Pro’s: Simple, easy to install and set up
App Con’s: English translations on the site are weak, and the info there doesn't offer a lot of information on what do to or how to act when certain issues are encountered.
Conclusion: CrystalDiskInfo is a decent application...if you're hardware savvy. If you don't know a lot about hardware or if you don't know what you should do with drives that are developing issues, having the app on your home PC isn't going to do you a lot of good. The app is really meant for computers and drives that are on more than they're off. In other words, if you have computers in a data center or other always on situation, CrystalDiskInfo is the kind of application you're going to need in order to make sure mission critical applications stay up and running.
Having an app like this in a consumer setting or on your home network isn't going to help you too much if you're PC isn't on more than off.  Most consumers won't know what do to with the issues and values they encounter, so the information is really just a lot of noise for someone who doesn't understand hardware.]]>

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:29:42 +0000 Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:29:42 +0000 http://crystaldiskinfo.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Windows systems are notoriously hard to keep optimized. Installs and registry modifications are done and often leave a lot of orphan data on your hard drive.  This often leads to issues not only with hard drive space, but with performance as well. This is the major reason why you need to have an application like Wise Care 356. It’s a Swiss army knife application for Windows, and its very good at what it does.
I've been looking at Windows utilities for years. There are many of them out there, but there are few that provide the breadth of scope and ease of use of Wise Care 365.  With Wise Care 365 you get a dead easy to use, lazing fast, and an overall healthy PC shortly after install.  As a tune-up utility, Wise Care 365 is comprehensive and full-featured, practical and economical. It will keep your PC in tiptop shape and at peak performance.
The app consists of five parts – PC Checkup, System Tune-up, Privacy Protector and Wise Utilities. PC Checkup is new and checks the whole running condition of your PC.  It rates its health on a scale of 1-10, with 10 high score, and then shows you quick-fix solutions. Wise Care 365 includes both Wise Disk Cleaner and Wise Registry Cleaner.  It takes just one click to use, and your old, tired PC will transform into a brand new and blazing fast one after Wise Care 365's work is done
App Pro’s: Free, Swiss Army knife utility,
App Con’s: Free version does not include all available utilities
Conclusion: Wise Care 365 is an awesome utility. Its something that most Windows users should have and the free version can do a lot without having to worry about registering the app to get a functioning utility. If you don't have this app, then you need to do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s not only worth your time and effort, but its well worth the expense.]]>

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:19:32 +0000 Wed, 10 Apr 2013 07:19:32 +0000 http://wise-care-365.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Everybody knows that the best way to keep your data safe is to back it up in some way. Having an extra copy is likely the best way to keep the data you need available. However, you have to have a disk, or some type of media to put it on, and sometimes that media gets damaged. Situations like that are made worse when the bad media in question is your backup drive, and your primary copy has bitten the dust. Its at times like this when you need tools like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. It’s a data recovery tool for Windows that just might be able to save your bacon.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is free, a one-stop data recovery too that can recover up to1 GB data. It can recover deleted files or folders even when they've been emptied from Recycle Bin. It can also recover data due to format, lost partition, system crash, virus attack, etc. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can restore files with their original file names & storage paths.
The app was designed as a wizard, making the data recovery process easy even for a beginner. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard works with just about any rewritable media, including hard disks memory cards, and USB flash drives under Windows 2000, to Windows 8. Itt supports dynamic disks and all file systems including FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS/NTFS5, and EXT2/EXT3.
App Pro’s: Free.
App Con’s: None.
Conclusion: Free, easy-to-use, and powerful, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition is a must-have too to combat data loss. No matter how you lose data, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will likely recover what you're looking for. At the very least, it’s a convenient first stop; and the price is right, so its very difficult to go wrong here.
 ]]>

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:46:26 +0000 Mon, 08 Apr 2013 06:46:26 +0000 http://easeus-data-recovery-wizard-free-edition.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

One of the things that most new Windows 8 users won't like is the lack of interface customization options it has. The OS is almost completely new, and most users don't know which end is up as far as putting a personal spin on it is concerned. This is why Decor8 is so important. It’s a Windows 8 customization tool.
Microsoft Windows 8 currently limits your start screen customization options to only a few provided background images and a few pre-defined color schemes. While this isn't earth shatteringly disappointing, Windows 8 doesn't really provide a lot of customization options, either.  This is where Decor8 comes in. It removes these limitations and provides the freedom to personalize your start screen with your own images and colors.
With Decor8, you can choose from more background images to personalize your start screen.  You can add your own photos and images, select multiple images to create a custom slideshow, randomize background images in timed intervals, and apply effects to scroll, fade, blur, recolor and add contrast to your background images.  You can also choose an image for your lock screen background.
Decor8 will automatically create a color scheme to match each of your background images. You can also customize the color scheme, if you prefer. Custom color schemes can also be applied to your charms bar. You can also control how many rows of tiles are available on your start screen.
App Pro’s: Customize the look & feel of Windows 8
App Con’s: Very simple, doesn't provide much more than a way to select colors, doesn't customize Desktop mode
Conclusion: Decor8 is a decent app; and it's one of the very few customization apps out there right now for Windows 8. The app follows the same look and feel as Start8, also from Stardock.  The one thing that I would do at the time of this writing is to hold off on any purchase of Decor8 until after the release of Windows Blue. The update is supposed to add to Windows 8's customization options, and that will likely cause a rev in Decor8 as well.]]>

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:45:19 +0000 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:45:19 +0000 http://decor8.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

Everybody knows that the best way to keep your data safe is to back it up in some way. Having an extra copy is likely the best way to keep the data you need available. However, you have to have a disk, or some type of media to put it on, and sometimes that media gets damaged. Situations like that are made worse when the bad media in question is your backup drive, and your primary copy has bitten the dust.  It’s at times like this when you need tools like EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard. It’s a data recovery tool for Windows that just might be able to save your bacon.
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is free, a one-stop data recovery too that can recover up to1 GB data. It can recover deleted files or folders even when they've been emptied from Recycle Bin.  It can also recover data due to format, lost partition, system crash, virus attack, etc. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard can restore files with their original file names & storage paths.
The app was designed as a wizard, making the data recovery process easy even for a beginner. EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard works with just about any rewritable media, including hard disks memory cards, and USB flash drives under Windows 2000, to Windows 8. It supports dynamic disks and all file systems including FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS/NTFS5, and EXT2/EXT3.
App Pro’s: Free
App Con’s: None
Conclusion: Free, easy-to-use, and powerful, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition is a must-have too to combat data loss. No matter how you lose data, EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard will likely recover what you're looking for. At the very least, it’s a convenient first stop; and the price is right, so it’s very difficult to go wrong here.]]>

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:35:59 +0000 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:35:59 +0000 http://easeus-data-recovery-wizard.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com

It began in Windows 3.x – shortcuts on your desktop. By the time many users upgraded their PC's to Windows XP, it was hopeless. Many desktops were nothing more than row after row of shortcuts. I saw it and lost my mind. It went against everything that was in me to be neat and organized. It's also one of the major reasons why I like applications like Cecil. It’s a desktop organizer for Windows.
Cecil is a desktop organizer, a launcher and a task automation application. It keeps everything organized in a slim, yet powerful menu, and can automate repetitive operations on-the-fly BATCH scripting and via JavaScript, if you're up on the language.
Cecil, or Command Centered Intelligent Launcher can be used to organize or automate anything you use your computer for, from checking mail, updating your status on Facebook, or just about anything else.  The app adds logic to the way commands are taken care of.
App Pro’s: Organize your computer, supports scripting
App Con’s: pricey for an app of this type at this point in computing
Conclusion: Cecil is an ok application. I like the organization concept and its automation capabilities are nice, but unfortunately, the concept is somewhat out dated. While launchers are big on the Android Smartphone side of the world, they aren't so hot on the desktop computer side of the fence.  At $15, I wasn't so hot for the app; and honestly, there are likely better apps out there at a better price point.]]>

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:24:44 +0000 Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:24:44 +0000 http://cecil.soft32.com Soft32.com support@soft32.com http://www.soft32.com