Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

cache

View your Mozilla cache

MozillaCacheView provides a simple set of tools for exploring your Firefox browsing history. While its layout is disappointingly bland, nearly identical to its sibling ChromeCacheView, its results are unimpeachable.

The interface will instantly bore you. It's a simple row of nearly indecipherable icons, saved only by the fact that they all have mouse-over tooltips so you can figure what they do. A little bit of exploring will help you grok what each one does. In order: you can select the cache folder, open the cached item's link in your browser, copy selected cached files to a new folder, … Read more

Cache-tracking device

ChromeCacheView provides a simple set of tools for monitoring your browsing history within Google's Chrome Web browser. While its layout is disappointingly bland, its results are ample enough to appeal to all but the most jaded information junkies.

The program's interface is a very basic window with not much to speak of in the way of graphic design, which was disconcerting at first. However, we quickly learned how things worked without any instructions or Help file. ChromeCacheView proves its strengths in the form of data. It immediately showcased our browsing history within Google Chrome. Everything buried inside our … Read more

Wrapping up Speeds and Feeds, part 5: Access

In this last wrap-up post for Speeds and Feeds, I address what may be the most important issue in the future of personal computing architecture: consistent data access across multiple platforms.

Perhaps it's my multi-platform background, but I've never demanded or expected consistency in form factors, user interfaces or even capabilities. Variety in these areas is great; it's what makes the personal computing market so big. Variety is also why I keep so many PCs and consumer electronic devices around (see photo); I like knowing I have the right tools for many different jobs.

On the other … Read more

Slow Web site? Yahoo open-sources an app for that

Betting that the benefits of the move will outweigh the risks, Yahoo has released the source code underlying in-house software called Traffic Server that can speed up Web site operations.

The software works by moving some data and operations closer on the Internet to the people trying using those services. Yahoo released it as an "incubator" project under the auspices of the Apache Software Foundation, a seasoned organization for managing open-source projects and also the site that houses the Hadoop open-source project Yahoo favors for large-scale data-processing challenges.

Shelton Shugar, Yahoo's senior vice president of cloud computing, … Read more

IOBit 360 refreshed for Windows 7

IOBit 360 is a relative newcomer on the antimalware scene, although the Chinese publisher is known for making solid utility software such as Smart Defrag. It's a fast and welterweight freeware utility for detecting and removing malware, and plugging your system's security holes before they can been exploited. The new improvements in version 1.10 include integration with the Windows 7 security center, a new feature that creates a USB key-portable version, a toolbar, and scan engine tweaks.

If you're unfamiliar with the program, it's fairly simple to figure out and use. The interface has large … Read more

Are writers selling out to marketers? Alain de Botton's "Heathrow Diary"

For one week, Swiss author Alain de Botton was living the life I've always wanted to live. As the first-ever writer-in-residence of London's Heathrow Airport, he was working on his new book on site, observing, documenting, and philosophically charging the emotions and motions of the two arguably most interesting things in life--people and planes--in transit, in situ.

My own fascination with airports started at an early age thanks to the location of my parents' house. I grew up with planes taking off and landing at the nearby airport, and as a student I spent one summer vacation working … Read more

Save viewed videos

Can't find a video file you watched months ago? Not to worry, this nifty little app makes recovering video or audio files from your cache a snap. However, its save function didn't work at all in our tests.

VideoCacheView is a free app that launches a small, one-pane window with a row of icons in a toolbar. It appears unassuming for a few moments, then--quick as a wink--it automatically fills its pane with a list of video and audio files it detects in your Web browser cache. This little app performed alright in our tests: it recovered video, … Read more

Hard-drive cleaner

QuickWiper provides users with a simple program to cleanse your computer of unwanted files and folders. In addition, it provides several key features that help clean the hard drive even more, making it a great all-around product.

Most users will not have any trouble jumping right into QuickWiper. The screen consists of only a few command icons, and whenever the mouse is held over them, a brief description is provided. While there is a Help file, most users can skip it and start immediately cleaning their computer. Wiping a file or folder is an easy task. Users simply click on … Read more

Erase traces easily

With hackers monitoring passwords, cookies, and browsing, users need all the protection they can get. Wipe claims to offer that protection in such an easy manner anyone can use it.

This freeware advertises its ease and does not disappoint. We have tested several programs that perform the same task and have never used one as simplified as Wipe. The download consists of a screen listing hundreds of programs that may contain personal data you do not want to share. From Windows XP to temporary Internet files, each is displayed with the number of files and the amount of space each … Read more