Archive for the ‘Portable’ Category
JavaRa Updates and Removes Old and Redundant Java Versions [Downloads]
Friday, April 9th, 2010
WinPenPack Gathers Hundreds of Portable Apps in One Package [Downloads]
Friday, April 2nd, 2010
StylePix Image Editor Packs a Big Punch In a Little Package [Downloads]
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Windows: Labor-intensive image editing jobs need heavy-hitting applications to get the job done. If you're just looking for a lightweight tool to slap on a netbook or thumb drive for quick photo editing, StylePix might be just what you need.
StylePix image editor has plenty of bells and whistles to help you easily manage and edit your photos, no matter what your level of experience. It supports all major image formats, including .png, .tif, .gif, .bmp, and more. Zoom in and out, adjust colors and hues, batch process, and, transform your pictures in loads of different ways.
Use the included drawing tools to erase, spray, brush, and add shapes to your pictures, or use one of the image filters to morph, sharpen, or blur it. StylePix can lighten or darken your image, and even remove red-eye and dust.
StylePix a terrific little app that offers a lot of editing options but doesn't take a degree in computer science to work with. Weighing in at only 20 MB, its small footprint makes it an ideal portable tool to take with you on the go.
StylePix is a free app that works on Windows XP or higher. If you're looking for a similar tool, don't forget to check out one of our favorite Photoshop alternatives, Paint.NET.
Device Doctor is a Free Driver Update Scanner with Promise [Downloads]
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009
Windows only: Driver update utility Device Doctor finds outdated drivers on your PC, and helps you download the latest version—without charging you a dime.
Using the utility, which can be installed or used as a portable application, is about as easy as it gets—just click the Begin Scan button, wait a couple of seconds, and you will be shown a list of drivers that can be updated. The download button for each driver will take you to their web site, where you can download the drivers for free, without signing up for anything at all. Most of the drivers come with setup programs, but some of them are nothing more than zip files, and would need to be installed manually—hopefully something they can improve on in the future.
During our testing, we used the application on half a dozen PCs, and had varied results—on our XP test system, Device Doctor worked well and accurately found new drivers, but for Windows 7 we didn't have as much luck, with a few incorrect drivers being thrown at us. That said, Windows 7 was only released recently, so expect that support to improve in the future.
Device Doctor isn't perfect yet, but as a completely free, portable application that you can toss on your thumb drive, it's well worth a look. It might even save you some time searching for new drivers while you are fixing mom's PC.
Device Doctor is a free download for Windows only. Be sure to check out the full How-To Geek review for a more in-depth look, as well as instructions on installing drivers manually.
Device Doctor [via How-To Geek]
Sumatra 1.0 is a Blazing Fast Replacement for Adobe Reader [Downloads]
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Windows only: The Sumatra PDF Viewer is a tiny, open-source, portable, and, most of all, lightning-quick replacement for the bloated Adobe Reader we've all learned to replace. It's only a 1.2 MB download, so why not give it a try?
Sumatra opened every PDF we threw at it without any issues, along with a table of contents in the left pane if available. You can head into the Options to choose the default layout and zoom, or choose whether to have the sidebar display automatically. Want to copy text to the clipboard? Just hold down the Ctrl key and select the text with your mouse, then use Ctrl+C to copy it. There's even a full set of hotkeys, including Gmail-style navigation. It's not as full-featured as Reader or Foxit, but if all you are doing is reading PDFs, it's definitely worth a look.
With giant hard drives and dirt-cheap memory these days, perhaps the biggest reason to switch to an alternative to Adobe Reader isn't even the bloat anymore—it's the non-stop security holes that seem to plague the popular reader, leaving you vulnerable to drive-by attacks. If Sumatra isn't for you, at least check out one of the other five best PDF readers.
Sumatra is a free download for Windows only. If you plan to keep Adobe Reader installed, be sure to check out the manual for instructions on using Sumatra as your default viewer when reading PDFs from the web.
Sumatra [via Download Squad]