applications

Some of the best software takes simple tasks and finds a whole new and innovative way of dealing with them. On the other side of the coin, some of the worst software takes simple tasks and needlessly complicates them. Such is the case with Memo2050. This bare-bones program lets you create lists of weekly events, but there are so few features that we can't imagine why anyone would choose this program over a typical calendar.

The program's interface is plain, consisting of a gray square with a few buttons. The program displays dates in a list a week … Read more

Look out Windows XP, Windows 7 is hot on your tail.

After a long reign as the world's dominant OS, XP is in danger of being knocked off its perch by the current flavor of Windows.

Surveying the OS landscape in May, Net Applications pegged Windows XP's market share at 44.8 percent and Windows 7's at 40.5 percent. That's the narrowest gap between the two since Windows 7 debuted in 2009. It's also a significant change from April when XP held a 46 percent share and Windows 7 a 38.8 percent share.… Read more

Apple's "Resume" feature in OS X Lion allows the system to save the current state of a program and, in conjunction with its auto-save feature, will restore both saved and unsaved documents as they were when you quit the program. This feature is convenient because it allows you to install application and system updates, or otherwise quit applications with little interruption to your workflow; however, in some situations it may not be a desired option to have.

Resume works by saving a profile of your current application's state within your user library folder in the /username/… Read more

Microsoft's Photosynth panorama application is now available to Windows Phone 7.5 users.

The Photosynth application has been around for quite some time, but this is the first instance of it coming to Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace. The application lets users snap a photo with their Mango-based device, and continue doing so until they have a full panoramic view.

According to Microsoft, the application helps users share panoramas on Facebook and Twitter, as well as publish them to Bing, so they appear in search results and Maps.

For iPhone users, having Photosynth available isn't all that spectacular, … Read more

NirSoft's SysExporter is a simple, free tool that does something seemingly simple very yet valuable, saving time and reducing errors. The program is made to grab and save the data in all sorts of views in Windows, including standard list views, tree views, list boxes, combo boxes, and other such displays, and save that data as a text, HTML, or XML file.

SysExporter's simple but effective user interface is split horizontally between an upper list view and a lower window for displaying selections. The program scanned our system, displaying a wide range of system messages by title, including … Read more

There's a lot that goes on in Windows behind the scenes. If you need an easy way to view processes, programs, and a lot of other information, try ManagePC. This simple program makes it easy to view details about nearly everything that's going on on your PC in one well-organized place. We think it's a great choice both for system administrators and for others who need to know the details of what's happening on their own or other people's computers.

ManagePC has an intuitive interface, with a series of buttons across the top giving access … Read more

Apple has silently added a new feature to its App Store: Editors' Choice.

When users boot up the Mac App Store or App Store, they'll find a new promotional feature, called Editors' Choice. On the Mac App Store side, Apple says that for its "inaugural pick," it chose CoBook, an address book application that supplements usability by accessing social networks. In addition, the company chose Deus Ex Human Revolution as another Editors' Choice worth checking out.

Not to be outdone, Apple unveiled some Editors' Choice options for App Store users, as well. Among the picks was the … Read more

A confusing aspect of OS X for those who regularly use other operating systems like Windows, is that quitting an application is separate from closing all of its windows. As a result, people used to Windows may simply close all windows and end up with numerous applications open at the same time, which can hog resources like RAM, use CPU time, and potentially result in slowdowns and reduced battery life.

In OS X Lion, Apple dealt with this problem in part by implementing a feature called automatic application termination, which will quit applications that are not in use. I covered application termination in a previous article, … Read more

On June 1, Apple will begin enforcing sandboxing requirements for all applications distributed through its Mac App Store service. If you've purchased applications from the Mac App Store, you can expect updates to become available in the next week or two.

Sandboxing is a security measure that restricts applications from unintended resource access. When enabled on an application, the default sandbox gives a program no access to any resources. Developers then enable Apple-supplied entitlements for the sandbox that allow access to printing, the network, and filesystem reading and writing, and other features so their program can work properly. The … Read more