tray

System Tray Cleaner is an interesting idea, a free Web-based utility that scans your system tray (also known as the Notification Area) and analyzes the results in Wikipedia to help you decide whether to keep them or not. You can disable icons or uninstall programs from the tool's online interface. If you basically have no idea what's in your system tray or how to get a handle on it with Windows, it may be worth your while to let System Tray Cleaner's server take a whack at it. If security is an issue and you already have … Read more

Airlines may soon be serving up more than dried out chicken and honey roasted peanuts on tray tables. Skycast Solutions has just launched TrayVu, an Android-powered in-flight entertainment system that is integrated into the seat-back tray.

Instead of staring at a hunk of beige plastic, fliers would get a full view of an Android tablet with an 8.9-inch screen. It can be viewed from the seat back position, or flipped up with the tray table down.

The systems will let customers order food and drinks for themselves or other family members (and maybe strangers) and run up a tab. The usual in-flight movies will be on tap along with ads, shopping, music, and games.

If you happen to work for an airline, you'll want to hear about the installation requiring no seat modifications and that the system adds less than 2 pounds of weight per seat.

Perhaps the biggest benefit to frequent fliers is the ability to lower the device down to a reasonable level.

No more reaching up to activate a touchscreen. You can keep it right there with your cup of watered down coffee and peach danish in a plastic bag.

Be kind to the next passenger and wipe that danish off your fingers before pawing your complimentary in-flight Android tablet.… Read more

Tray Dictionary is a free desktop dictionary tool based on the Encarta online dictionary. With it you can look up words quickly without having to open an online dictionary site. It also allows quick right-click lookups in Internet Explorer.

We opened Tray Dictionary's Start Menu folder and clicked the program icon to open its System Tray interface, which is anchored by a dictionary icon. Clicking this icon called up a tiny search field for quick lookups. Since we park the Windows taskbar on the right edge of our wide-screen desktop, it covered Tray Dictionary's search button, and we … Read more

Pandora Internet Radio app playback and control are old hat for car audio receivers--that tech's been around since CES 2010. However, with the exception of one OEM implementation, it's mostly been an iPhone-only affair, with Android users being left out in the cold. That's about to change with the announcement of the Sony DSX-S310BTX, the first aftermarket car stereo to offer Pandora integration with Android and BlackBerry devices.

The DSX-S310BTX communicates with a paired Android or BlackBerry phone via Bluetooth, taking control of the Pandora app and streaming audio wirelessly. Users get the standard Play, Pause, and … Read more

Windows users have long wanted greater flexibility in the system tray, but it's been up to developers like 4t Niagara Software to provide it. We looked at 4t Tray Minimizer Free, a free tool that can minimize any running application to the system tray, also known as the notification area. That's enough on its own, but 4t Tray Minimizer can also roll up any window to just its title bar; make windows transparent; hide programs without displaying a system tray icon; set hotkeys for minimizing, maximizing, and launching applications; and toggle the entire system tray open and closed.… Read more

There is no substitute for a hot meal. Though there are plenty of things worse than cold mashed potatoes, it is a travesty of dinner that can easily be avoided. Certainly the most desirable outcome of mealtime is setting down to a hot plate of food right out of the kitchen. Sadly, this cannot always be. When life gets in the way of dinner, a warming tray can come to the rescue.

Suitable for more than just rescuing diners late to the dinner table, the Deni Circular Warming Tray with Lid is a convenient multitasker than can also be used … Read more

The Windows Explorer shell is responsible for some of the most basic aspects of the way Windows looks. The Start menu, system tray, and other aspects of the taskbar are all part of the shell. Emerge Desktop replaces the Windows Explorer with a different, more customizable shell. On the whole we didn't find it to be a huge improvement over the Windows default, but if you like to tweak your desktop's appearance, it might be worth checking out.

The program's interface isn't the most intuitive thing we've ever seen, and we had to consult the … Read more

Random BackGround from RealityRipple is a free desktop wallpaper utility. It displays a randomized slideshow of selected images that changes at regular preset intervals. It can handle JPEG, GIF, DIB, and BMP images. It does its job well enough, but it's a step back from the built-in wallpaper features in the latest Windows offerings.

When we installed and opened Random BackGround in Windows 7, a warning message appeared and the setup closed. However, when we left-clicked the program's system tray icon, we got a file menu. We clicked New Background with no luck, but clicking Settings opened a … Read more

QuickMonth Calendar is just the sort of freeware we love to see; it's compact, simple, and focused on its task. It does one thing: it pops up a calendar display near the system tray when you hover the cursor over the system time and date display. Calendars may be the most easily overdone feature in the software universe, integrating everything from note keepers to obscure historical facts to musical alerts when, 99 percent of the time, all you want to do is look at the calendar. Even the decent Windows tray calendar requires mouse clicks to open and close, … Read more