build

Gracefully become a power downloader

The name might not be the most creative, but the Internet Download Manager does exactly what it promises: helps you download and organize files. The best part is that you can schedule downloads and use filters to get the specific files you want.

The compact interface is packed with options, but the main features are easily accessed from a toolbar at the top. We would have liked to see a bit more user guidance up front, but a tutorial does cover the basics, and there is a more detailed Help file if you get stuck. You can also go the … Read more

Slim and quick browser

There aren't that many Internet browsers. It was interesting to come across one that isn't as well-known or as well-advertised as the others: SlimBrowser. We can't say much about the security of this browser, since time will only tell, but it has some interesting features.

You can save all open sites as a Group, for example, which is a very convenient feature for anyone that has to regularly open the same sites simultaneously for work. There is also a Language tab, which connects you to Google in order to translate a page. It's not perfect, obviously, … Read more

Rainlendar Lite 64-bit beats widgets and PIMs as a desktop calendar

If your idea of a desktop calendar is a stack of paper you can write notes on as opposed to a trifold organizer or day book, Rainy's Rainlendar Lite is probably your calendar. It's largely unobtrusive and transparent, like a widget, though you can customize its look. But unlike a simple calendar widget or gadget, Rainlendar Lite is also a personal manager that can remind you of tasks and important events. It's fully compatible with most other iCalendar apps, so you can import and export data such as events. You can back up your calendar and even … Read more

Microsoft bares Windows RT 'PC'

Aside from calling it a "PC," there isn't much about Windows RT devices that resemble the laptop you're using today, as Microsoft spelled out today in its Building Windows 8 blog.

At the top the blog, Microsoft confirmed that Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung will be introducing Windows RT PCs running on top of ARM chips.

This follows the announcement by Asus of the Windows RT Tablet 600.

Here are some of the highlights of today's blog:

Windows RT is not just tablets: The point being that many devices will come with physical keyboards. "Some … Read more

Convert MP3s, WAVs, and more with Helium Audio Converter

You'd probably resist buying vinyl albums if you needed a different record player for each one. And wouldn't it be annoying to need a bunch of different gadgets to watch your favorite movies on video? (We know; you already do). That's pretty much the situation with digital music files, especially compressed files like MP3s. It's a rare music collection that doesn't have a few songs in weird or orphaned formats.

That's not a problem if your media player handles it all, but it's an issue when you're loading up tunes to take … Read more

Microsoft explains how Windows 8 smokes Windows 7

Microsoft spelled out acceleration improvements in Windows 8, in a blog post Monday. Needless to say, Microsoft says the overall experience is a lot snappier.

The latest Building Windows 8 entry, penned by Rob Copeland, the group program manager at Microsoft's graphics team, is titled Hardware accelerating everything: Windows 8 graphics.

Some context is first provided at the top in order to illustrate how Window 8 "builds on the well-established foundations of DirectX graphics" in Windows 7.

In Windows 7, we expanded the capabilities of DirectX to provide a common hardware-accelerated graphics platform for a broader range … Read more

Build Legos in Chrome with Google Build

The Lego land grab is on. Google Chrome and Lego Australia fastened themselves together to roll out Build, a Web app for Chrome that lets you build impressively realistic Lego structures right within Google's browser.

To get started, you can browse the map to find an open plot or click the blue Build button and have Build find one for you. Each plot is a 32-by-32-peg square, and you are given 1,000 virtual bricks to use. There are 10 different type of Lego bricks in 10 different colors, plus two extras: a door and a window. (My son … Read more

Avant Browser lets you compare the IE, Firefox, and Chrome rendering engines

The ongoing battle for Web browser supremacy leaves many Internet users confused about which one to use: Internet Explorer? Mozilla Firefox? Or Google Chrome, the current top browser? You can have all three with Avant Browser, a feature-packed free browser that incorporates the latest rendering engines of IE, Firefox, and Chrome, and lets you switch among them. Avant uses multiprocessing to keep one crashed or frozen tab from crashing the whole browser, and it's frugal with memory. It also offers optional free online storage for your bookmarks and other browser data. It offers tons of options, including the ability … Read more

Display detailed data about your system's memory with RAMMon

Your computer uses a standard known as Serial Presence Detect (SPD) to access information about its memory modules. PassMark's RAMMon is a free tool that can extract and display that information in a table view that you can save, print, and export. It can automatically search Amazon.com for your RAM manufacturer's name, if you need to find new modules. RAMMon displays critical data that overclockers depend on when they push their RAM to the limits of its capabilities.

RAMMon is available in separate releases for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows, so be sure you download the … Read more