I did not post a Software Updates article on the last two Wednesdays which was partly caused by my away-period from the computer due to holidays but also because I wanted to find out if you would still be interested in those posts. It usually means a lot of work to gather all the information about the updates and it would not be a good idea to continue this series if it would not be interesting to some of you.

I received some emails and replies asking me why I stopped posting those articles which convinced me to continue writing those articles. I decided to write slightly larger descriptions on each software that has been updated, let me know if you like it that way better.

The application of the week is without doubt JavaRa 1.09 which scans the computer for the installed Java Runtime Environment. If an older version has been found it offers download links of the latest package and the removal of the older versions.

continue reading "Software Updates Week 27"

Gianluigi send me an interesting email just a few minutes ago that described a small script that he wrote that would allow users to create outlook tasks from the command line and Launchy. The real benefit of this approach is speed and it can be especially handy for those users who do use Launchy because it’s just another tad easier than using the command line.

The script can be downloaded from Gianluigi’s website, just take note that it requires the Microsoft .net Framework 2 or higher to function properly. Runs perfectly on Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 according to the author. The website is in Italian but Google Translate does a good job at translating the website into English.

The option to create Outlook Tasks from the command line is given after script installation. Just fire up the Windows run box (Windows R) and enter any new tasks beginning with “do”. The command “do buy some beer” would add the buy some beer task to Microsoft Outlook which does not even have to be running to add the tasks.

continue reading "Create Outlook Tasks From The Command Line And Launchy"

I once had the pleasure to scan hundreds of papers manually which was a tedious job that took hours to complete. Back then I thought that a automatic solution would have been wonderful, one where I only had to to add the papers that should be scanned into the scanner and press a button in the operating system.

It’s a bit late but the software QQScan2Disc does that. Well, it actually does even more than that because it can convert the scanned papers into pdf format and burn them to DVD.

The requirements are an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) Scanner and a computer with Windows XP or Windows Vista. A list of supported scanners is available on the website of the program, they are: Plustek PS281, PS282/286, PL806/812, PL1200, PL1500, PL3000, PL7000/7500, PL2546, OB4600, D428, D600, A320/360 with an option to request the addition of other devices.

continue reading "Automatically Scan, Convert and Burn Multi-Page Papers"

Tame is a specialized backup solution that can monitor applications and perform backups once those applications close. It would for instance be possible to monitor Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer and make a backup of the profiles once the applications are closed by the user. Other variants include instant messengers and their logs, ftp clients, p2p applications and everything else that is writing data during use.

Tame is easy to use. Just install the application on your system and pick an application from one of the running processes. That application will be monitored from then on. The only other information that have to be specified are the folder that should be backed up after that process terminates and the backup folder that will contain the backup of the data.

That’s pretty easy, ain’t it? The While that is the main use of Tame it does offer another way to backup files. Next to the so called Program Closing Backups System Timed Applications are available.

continue reading "Do Specific Data Backups With Tame"

Everyone I know who owns a car is cursing about the increasing fuel costs. I’m in the lucky position that I do not own a car and that I do not have plans to own one in the near future. With rising fuel costs come incentives to manage and calculate the monthly fuel consumption of a car to find out how expensive that car really is.

The figures that are collected could then be analyzed and fuel consumption could probably be reduced by driving less or even switching to a car that does not need as much fuel as the old car on average.

The software CarbuCheck can manage the fuel consumption for several users. It’s a basic software that comes with everything needed. It obviously does not connect to the gas tank in a car which means that it is up to the driver to keep track of the distances and tank stops.

continue reading "Manage Your Fuel Consumption"