1.5.1

Review: GrandPerspective for Mac displays your hard-drive space graphically

When determining how space is divided on a hard drive, some, more visual users may want a way to have the information represented graphically, rather than in numbers. While simple and of limited overall use, GrandPerspective for Mac is a good option for those looking for a different way to analyze folder and hard drive space.

Download and installation of GrandPerspective for Mac completed easily, but it only contained a basic readme file with no dedicated instructions, which was a detriment due to the complex nature of the program and its interface. It was also unclear if technical support existed. … Read more

Create, share, and document gene sequences with SnapGene Viewer for Mac

A complex field such as molecular biology requires efficient ways to visualize gene sequences and associated data. SnapGene Viewer for Mac helps you better visualize, annotate, and simulate DNA-related procedures.

Installing SnapGene Viewer for Mac is quick and easy. At first launch a setup screen pops up that lets you define your preferred enzyme suppliers. You are also invited to watch an introductory video to guide you through the basic functions of the software. Six more videos are also available to explore advanced functions of this program. Many screenshots and feature descriptions that will help you learn more about the … Read more

Scientific calculator that will suit most people

Calcmadeeasy Free is the free version of a paid scientific calculator app ($2.99) for Mac OS X. Calcmadeeasy Free is designed to provide you with general math and scientific calculations, although there's not a great deal of true scientific functionality available in the free app compared to the full version.

Calcmadeeasy Free installs quickly and the interface is attractive. The screen is divided into two panes, one for scientific functions on the left and more traditional numeric and math functions on the right. A single line of output at the top completes the interface. The buttons are large … Read more

Blacksmith

If you've ever wished you could have that multipage graphical user interface (GUI) that you see in Macs and Android devices, your wait is over. Blacksmith from jLab promises to bring that type of functionality to a Windows environment for free.

The Virtual Desktop Manager might seem daunting to the newbie at first, but the application is well worth knowing once you get the hang of it. Blacksmith allows Windows users to configure as many as four desktops into their system and provides them with quite a number of options to manipulate them. These include assigning separate icons for … Read more

Failed to impress

Media players are a dime a dozen, which makes it hard for them to stand out from the crowd. Media Player Classic Home Cinema is another contender in the category, but its glitchy performance failed to impress us enough to make the switch from our current player.

The program's user interface is as basic as it gets, which isn't a bad thing. A menu runs across the top of the window, offering navigational options: File, View, Play, Navigate, Favorites, and Help. A bar with buttons for playing, pausing, stopping, and skipping forward and backward resides at the bottom … Read more

Wiki quickie

Wikitup is a free desktop reference tool with extensions for Google Chrome and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Wikitup uses open-source data from sites like Wikipedia, Wikitionary, and Wikiquote to deliver search results quickly to your desktop via a system tray icon. It can translate selections in more than 700 languages as well as find photos and videos and present them in a Cooliris 3D Wall display.

To access Wikitup, we clicked the W icon in our Windows notification area, also known as the system tray. We right-clicked the icon and selected Settings, which let us select languages, data sources, hot keys, … Read more

B&N rolls out 1.5 firmware update for e-ink Nooks

Barnes & Noble has begun rolling out an updated version of its Nook firmware to those who own its e-ink e-readers. Considered a major update, the company says that version 1.5 of the firmware "will dramatically increase" the page-turn speeds of the Nook 3G and Nook Wi-Fi and deliver additional feature and performance enhancements.

While the user interface has largely stayed the same, search functionality on the device has improved, password protection has been added, and you can now organize your library into categories or "shelves," as they're called on the Nook. Also, the … Read more

Stop it

Just because Android apps have no "close" button doesn't mean they shut down when you return to the home page or move on to another app. You calendar, note pad, and programs in which you turn on event notifications might periodically run in the background, depleting your battery. Download and run Advanced Task Killer Free. You'll be amazed at the apps that run on start-up without your knowledge. While you can kill the task killer along with other apps, we recommend letting it run so you can easily use it a couple times throughout the day. … Read more

One-step clean up

Need3Space attempts to combine several different types of space-saving software into one economical download. While this sets the bar high, this program's performance may make other products obsolete.

This program offers a colorful interface with easy-to-distinguish commands. Each button on the left-hand side of the screen performs a different space-saving function for the user. The right side gives a clear glimpse of what function that button is performing. Of the six options, the Analyze Disk Space button seems to be the most intriguing. With one click, users can search through specific folders or their entire hard drive to get … Read more