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Converting videos to allow them to be shown on an iMac, iPhone, or iPad can be a tricky process if you don't know what to do. Dual-OS users already know the frustration of converting videos supported by Windows (such as WMV or AVI) into the MacOS environment. Any Video Converter Lite is a free product that can perform conversions several ways, readying your video clips for the supported formats of an iDevice.

Any Video Converter Lite installs on an iMac or MacBook Pro quickly and easily. The entire process took just a few seconds. Once installed, converting video files … Read more

Mini Empire Plus is a strategy game that could be described as being a combination of Risk and Farmville. This fun game offers a great user experience with a well-designed interface that lets you get started right away.

For users who have already played strategy games, Mini Empire Plus's controls and actions will be a no-brainer, but we liked the in-game guidance that helps new users get acclimated. The first launch takes you to the Stone Age so you start building your virtual empire. From there, you can start taking on other players. You can choose your method of … Read more

When a Web site or app rejects your password as weak, the wrong length, or containing the wrong characters, don't swear and start adding stuff to an existing (and expired) password; download and run Awesome Password Generator instead. This simple, free tool from InfoPro quickly creates strong, random passwords and WPA passphrases of just the right length, type, and number of characters, and other parameters you set. But it doesn't just generate random strings of characters; its algorithms can create strong passwords that aren't difficult to type or that omit confusing characters such as 0 (zero) and … Read more

Wouldn't it be great to be able to see if your furniture is going to fit before you move it? Or how a color will look on your walls before you paint them? With Roomeon 3D-Planner, you can. If you've ever used 3D panoramic software to shop for apartments, tour historic buildings, or devastate the enemy, you've seen Roomeon 3D-Planner's basic operation. This free 3D interior design application lets you create virtual models of your rooms and furnishings, down to the exact dimensions, that you can arrange, rearrange, and rearrange again, without lifting a finger (not … Read more

Keyloggers are programs that hide in the background and record a user's every keystroke, mouse click, and screen image, letting others (such as the boss) see exactly what that user has been doing while at the computer. Long used in high-security applications, keyloggers can help parents, employers, and others who are responsible for others' behavior (and, more to the point, misbehavior) by clearly showing which Web sites and programs a specific user accessed at a specific time. Spyrix Free Keylogger can put that power in your hands. This easy-to-use freeware logs keystrokes and online activity, takes screenshots, and monitors … Read more

Major Share's CPU-M Benchmark is a free program that runs benchmarking tests on your CPU and RAM and displays detailed test results in an easy-to-read interface. You can also post your results online to share and compare. That's all this tool does, but it's enough to have so much useful technical data in one place. Most users won't need CPU-M Benchmark's detailed reports; at least, not beyond basic performance data. But technicians and geeks will find lot of useful information.

CPU-M Benchmark's compact, dialog-based user interface looks a lot like the system data and … Read more

With energy costs perpetually rising, you don't have to be all that green to want to reduce your energy use and expenditures. Energy Cost Calculator from AB-Tools is freeware that calculates how much energy your appliances use, and how much it's costing you. It's easy to use, but you'll need to know your electric utility rates, usage habits, and appliance types for the program to calculate your energy costs. Energy Cost Calculator's database includes many examples, and you can add new ones, too.

Energy Cost Calculator's compact interface opened with an optional tool tip … Read more

ThGCube is a desktop enhancement that lets you create a slideshow of images displayed in a cube or other animated format. It's a nice idea and has a surprising number of features, but in practice we weren't too crazy about it.

ThGCube offers six options for displaying images: the cube, a star shape, horizontal and vertical wheels, and horizontal and vertical lines. Some of these are kind of hard to describe, but all involve animated 3D displays of your images. Our first beef with ThGCube was the large watermark displayed on the unregistered version. We have nothing against … Read more

If it's time to organize those years of photographs, or just the dozens from your last vacation, you can get a professional-looking slideshow with Bolide Slideshow Creator, a free tool designed to made it easy to create your own quality slideshow presentations.

The tool has a very straightforward interface. Putting together a slideshow presentation is a simple matter of drag and drop; just pick the photos and background music from among your collection. We liked the option to add comments to the photos and the number of transition effects you can choose from to make the presentation more visually … Read more