This week we’ll take a look at an app that uninstalls the pre-installed junk your new computer comes with, a minimalistic writing tool for Windows 8.1 users, and an app that checks the health status of your hard-drive.
Software
RSS Reader Live (Type: Free, OS: Windows 8.1, Size: 1 MB)
While Windows 8.1 lacks most of the popular feed readers, there are ample alternatives to get your work done. RSS Reader Live is one such example. It’s simple, light weight and has a plain user interface. The scrolling between the feeds is very smooth, and it can prompt both Live Tiles and Toast notifications, and the option to see notifications on the lockscreen as well. RSS Reader Live also lets you rename the feeds.
Decrap (Type: Free, OS: Windows – all versions, Size: 6 MB)
This week we talked about some of the common mistakes people do on their computers. One such mistake was not uninstalling the pre-installed 3rd-party applications. Depending on your computer’s manufacturer, there could be any number of outlandish applications sheltering home on your computer. Removing them manually is not only confusing but can also take a heck amount of time. Decrap is an app that can help you speed up that process. Defrag helps you in two ways, if you want to decide which apps to remove, it will sort a separate list of 3rd party apps. If you are not interested in getting into the details, Decrap will turn into a ninja and do the job for you.
Poe (Type: Free, OS: Windows 8.1, Size: 100 KB)
Another interesting tool that got our attention this week was Poe. It’s an incredibly light, minimalistic note taking app that vaunts sundry of handy features. It offers a writing timer that tells you for how long you have been writing or editing a document, and auto-saves all the changes you made to the document. More writing resources include spellchecker and Find function. You can also keep a track of the word-count. If you don’t like the background color, there is an option to change the theme as well.
CrystalDiscInfo (Type: Free, OS: Windows – all versions, Size: 2.5 – 4 MB)
This software can prove its worth if you care about you data. We all know that we should back up our data, as our hard-drives, being a mechanical device have limited life span. Using CrystalDiscInfo you can check the health status of your hard-drive. The app scans your hard-drive in real time, and in addition to the status of your disk, it also displays temperature of the device and other relevant information. If the health status of your hard-drive is somewhat not up to the mark, you know that you should make a backup of the existing data and consider buying a new hard-drive.
Browser Extensions
Scrollbar of Contents
Scrolling through a 5000-word article could get juddering. Thankfully we have extensions like Scrollbar of Contents, available on Chrome browser, which generates markers for all the sections, helping you to jump straight into the part you want to read. If you want to hide it, press Shift + Alt+ N.
QR Code
As the name suggests, this Firefox extension has just one job, which is to make QR Codes of URLs or selected texts. If you want to forward a link, but don’t want to appear like you are spamming your friends, QR Code is a nice way to deal with it. Besides, you can also select some text and make a QR code of it. There are many online services, as well as most smartphones have apps that can help you decode the QR codes.
Rippit
If you are a fan of sub-reddit(s) that share pictures and gif images, and don’t like saving all the images manually, Rippit can help you grab every image file hyperlinked on a page. The extension isn’t available on Chrome app store just yet, so you will have to manually download and install it.
Vine for Chrome
The popular video sharing network from Twitter has now made its way to Chrome. Although it isn’t the official extension, it does a reasonably good job. Using this extension you can browse and discover Vine uploads. The best part of this extension is that it lets you watch the video in full-screen mode as well.
FitBolt
Whether it is your hobby, or your job, many of us have to be online all the time. We are hooked up to our browsers, checking stock updates, news, feed readers etc. Some good folks built FitBolt, a tool which reminds you to take a break every once in a while. Apart from the reminder notification, it also gives health and fitness tips, such as stretching your arms and back. You can customize how often you want to be notified.
WebDownloader
If you like downloading images and videos from social networking websites such as Flickr, Facebook, or even YouTube, WebDownloader can help make that process much easier for you. As an obligatory reminder, downloading such content may void the terms and agreements of the website, so it is up to you how you deal with it.
Software Update
Winamp
After 15 years of its service, Winamp, the media player we all love is closing its shutter on 20th next month. Before descending the player has received a last update. The major update adds the reset button to clear the history of the Open/Add URL dialog box. More command-line switches have been added, and the area of notification tooltip has been extended to 128. But the update gives more emphasis on fixing the bugs and improving the overall user experience. Now that Winamp is going away, it might also make sense to switch over to some other media player. Here are the alternatives to Winamp.
MediaInfo
The popular nifty tool MediaInfo got a major update this week. Its media codec database has been updated with more information. The app can now provide you in-depth information about media files. In addition, Python, Origin, WindowBlinds, Skype and Flash Player also received minor updates.
Tip of the week: Watch this awesome Sci-Fi web series
Security firm Trend Micro has put up a Sci-Fi web series called “2020” on its YouTube channel. The show visions how mobile and cloud based technology will look like in year 2020. How people will interact, and how this technology will shape our society and the world.
