versions

Windows offers a lot of sources of PC information, most of it scattered throughout your system. Gabriel Topala's SIW (System Information for Windows) gathers all that information in a single interface. SIW Technician's Version displays detailed specifications for your hardware, software, and network, including real-time monitoring of CPU, RAM, and network usage. It includes several useful extras, such as the ability to retrieve and display passwords and software serial numbers and key codes. Best of all, it's free for noncommercial users. It doesn't access or make any changes to your properties or settings; it just displays … Read more

The "SIW" in SIW - Freeware Version stands for System Information for Windows, and they aren't kidding. This utility provides users with an amazing array of information about your Windows machine and its contents, performance, and settings.

SIW's interface is plain and easy to navigate, with menus and a toolbar across the top and a tree-style directory down the left side. This directory is split into three main parts--Software, Emulated Hardware, and Network--and expanding each of these displays a bevy of information. The amount of features SIW contains is truly staggering; users can view information about … Read more

Evernote has pushed out a useful update to its premium service that adds a few more reasons to spend the $5 a month (or $45 a year) fee. Premium users now get double the storage on the size of notes, which has jumped from 25MB to 50MB a pop.

More impressive though is that the service is finally getting versioning control. Versioning is something that's especially important in word processing. If you're working on a particularly large piece of work, you might very well cut out portions here and there that you wish to bring back later on. … Read more

You can now test your fighting prowess using the iPhone as the arena with Capcom's new release of Street Fighter IV.

With its roots in the arcade, the popular game found its way onto the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3, and the PC before finally hitting the iPhone and iPod Touch last week. Using similar gameplay and a few of the same characters as its bigger screen brothers, Street Fighter IV works better than one might expect on the smaller format.

You can choose to play from among any of the six featured characters, including Japan's Ryu, French … Read more

A new software upgrade is now available to owners of Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader. This is the second upgrade since the device launched in early December and it appears to be more substantial than the first, which arrived shortly after the product shipped and addressed a handful of small but pervasive bugs.

Barnes & Noble notes that version 1.2 "continues to improve Nook performance to provide enhanced overall reading experience and in-store connectivity for Nook customers to enjoy exclusive content and promotions in Barnes & Noble stores."

Here are the key updates, according to … Read more

If you've caught yourself scratching your head trying to figure out what type of HDMI cable to buy, you're probably not alone. With so many versions, it's hard to know which does what. However, very soon, you won't have that trouble anymore.

In an effort to make it easier for customers to identify the right products for their needs, HDMI Licensing released Thursday, on behalf of the HDMI Founders, an updated version of the HDMI Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines. HDMI Licensing is the agent responsible for licensing the high-definition multimedia interface specification.

The most notable changes in the guidelines are significant restrictions on the use of version numbers and new marketing requirements for cables. These new requirements are designed to simplify the product selection process for consumers, enabling them to purchase an appropriate product based on features, instead of having to do research on what each version does.

According to the new guidelines, adopters will no longer be allowed to use HDMI specification version numbers in the labeling, packaging, or promotion of their HDMI-compliant products. These restrictions go into effect immediately for cable products. Noncable products, however, have until January 1, 2012, to fully comply.

The new guidelines designate all HDMI cable products into five types:… Read more

Memory Improve Master Free Version brings together several computer settings aimed at improving its performance. This tool is best suited for people familiar with Windows performance management.

Like most memory optimizers, the program operates on the debatable principle that the greater the amount of free RAM, the more efficiently applications will operate and the lower the chances your application or system will crash. Using Memory Improve Master, you can ensure free RAM by manually forcing memory release, "deep compressing" system memory, and setting thresholds and letting the application run in the background. A real-time graph displays the effects … Read more

KLS Backup 2008 Standard doesn't have the most intuitive user interface for backing up important files and folders, but thankfully, it employs wizards to streamline the process. Once we put it to the test, it successfully backed up designated files, folders, and even our Registry keys.

The user interface has commands at the top of the window, and four panels that display created profiles, profile tests, archives, and archive content. Not sure where to go first, we used the backup wizard to get started. Using the wizard, we added the files, selected the compression level, and applied encryption and … Read more

Windows Shutdown Speed Up promises to give users the power to close down their computer much faster by altering its settings. Instead, we found a program that took too much time to try and understand.

This freeware presents itself with a simple-to-operate menu. It offers to evaluate your Window's shutdown settings, change your windows shutdown settings and return to default settings. These three simple cues make this program appear easy, but in reality its function is quite a mystery.

Checking your settings gives you a red X or a green check mark, but the descriptions are in such broken … Read more