Since not all Windows applications notify you when a free update is available, there are third-party applications that will scan all your software, and let you know when updates are available. LifeHacker polled readers to come up with a list of the five most recommended software update tools. Learn more at Five Best Software Update Tools.
Tired of buying Microsoft Office for each computer you use? OpenOffice is an open-source (i.e. free) software suite for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. It stores all your data in file formats that are compatible with Microsoft Office, and works on many computer platforms including Windows, Mac and Unix. The newest release, OpenOffice 3.1 is now available for download.
Wondering where all your hard drive space has gone? OverDisk is a free Windows utility that displays a radial map that will graphically show you what’s eating your space. The author calls the current version beta, but the testers at Lifehacker said the version worked great.
The Creative Commons Add-In for Office is a free utility that licenses your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in just a few clicks. The drop-down menu sits on a tab (on the Ribbon menu for Office 2007) and uses a wizard to guide you through choosing the appropriate license. Unfortunately, it’s Windows only, no Mac. The free download is available from Microsoft for Office 2007 and Office 2003/XP.
An official release date for Windows 7 has not been announced, but several guides to Vista’s successor are now available from Gizmodo, Arstechnica and Microsoft.
When visitors to my home office see the two large monitors on my desktop, and see the mouse travel seamlessly from one to the other, they are usually amazed to learn that support for multiple monitors is built into Windows. All you need is multiple outputs from your video card, or multiple video cards. To learn more, read Ask Leo’s How Do I Set up a System with More than One Screen?.
Have a Microsoft Word problem that is “tying you (and your stomach) in knots?” Allen Wyatt’s Word Tips delivers relief with an archive of tips and answers that cover many different versions of Word for the PC, including: Word 6, Word 95, Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2003, and Word 2007. Tips are organized into topic categories, or can be found via the search function.
Despite a common misconception that deleting a computer file (and emptying the Recycle Bin) will completely remove a file from a personal computer, it’s just not true. All the delete button really does is remove the file from the directory listing. But for those times when really, really deleting a file is important, there are a number of software tools that will do the job. Sdelete is one such utility. Nakodari recommends three others at Quick Online Tips .
When copying files from CD to your hard drive, it’s important to realize that the Windows “Read Only” property will be copied with the file. To enable writing to the file on your local computer, you will need to highlight the file name in Explorer, and right-click to open Properties. Make sure the Read-Only attribute box is unchecked, and then save the modified settings by clicking Apply and OK.
Using free tools, Tinkernet’s Daniel Davis explains how to create an Internet radio station that all your friends can listen to. The tools needed are Winamp, Shoutcast DSP Plugin, Shoutcast Sever, and a supply of digital tunes to play. Sorry, today’s tip is for Windows users only.
