The feed reader has just been updated to RSSOwl 2.1 which adds several very interesting features to the program. Probably the biggest feature in the new release is google reader synchronization which means news states, labels and stars are now shared between Google Reader and RSSOwl.

The synchronization can be activated via File > Import > Synchronize with Google Reader. One of the things that users need to know is that there is no automatic synchronization of feeds between Google Reader and RSSOwl, for that you need to use the Import feature. Whenever you add a new feed to one of the readers, you need to use it again to synchronize the feeds. The news items on the other hand are automatically synced after the initial setup.

The developers have improved stability, scalability and performance of the RSS reader significantly. Among the improvements are crash fixes, support for large profile databases beyond 2 Gigabyte, a new wizard to automatically repair broken search indexes and a reduced memory footprint.

Layouts have been improved. The developers have redesigned the newspaper layout, headlines layout and list layout. Layouts can be changed via the View > Layouts menu.

There have also been other user interface changes, for instance integration of the archiving feature in all layouts to quickly move news items to the archive bin for safe keeping, support for instapaper and readability or a per feed configuration of the layout.

Existing RSSOwl users will receive update notifications when they start the feed reader. New users can download the latest version from the official program homepage. There they can also read up on all the changes of the new release in the changelog.

PDF Jumbler is a free software program that offers several tools to work with pdf documents. To be precise, the free software offers to rearrange, delete or merge pages from PDF files.

PDF documents are added via drag and drop or the open document button at the top of the minimalistic program interface. It is then possible to rearrange pages with drag and drop, or to delete pages by selecting them first and selecting the delete button afterwards. The delete key on the keyboard deletes the selected pdf pages as well.

Additional documents can be added to any position of the existing documents. PDf Jumbler can merge multiple documents in one process.

The Save Document button saves the new pdf document to the hard drive. Zoom in and out buttons are available to preview individual pages of the pdf files that have been added to PDF Jumbler.

The portable software program is offered as a Java executable, which means that the operating system needs to support Java.

PDF Jumbler is as easy as it can get when it comes to merging, deleting or rearranging pages of one or multiple pdf documents.

The Open Source application can be downloaded from the project homepage over at SourceForge. (via)

A configuration window is displayed on the first startup of the application. It can be used to make some default configuration changes like selecting the default picture format, external image editor, design and the default profile. And the profiles are one of the features that not many other screenshot taking applications offer.

Most applications use profiles to provide access to capture different areas on the screen. Not so JShot which uses profiles to distinguish between different upload options. Available for selection are ftp, ImageShack and Skype integration with Skype only available for Windows users.

JShot offers to take screenshots from a region, fullscreen, computer desktop, widgets, taskbar and clipboard (only working if an image is in the clipboard). The program adds a tray menu icon by default to the operating system that can be used to quickly access all of the features of the program. Another option to run the program are hotkeys which unfortunately did not work on our Windows 7 Pro test system.

The screenshot editor supports basic image editing features like adding text and other elements to the image, rotating, flipping or cropping the image or applying basic filters to it. It is here possible to send the image to an external image editor.

JShot is an interesting screenshot capture tool. The missing hotkeys make it less usable for computer users who regularly have to take screenshots and we hope that the developers will fix that feature so that it can be used in future releases.

The Skype, ftp and Imageshack implementation on the other hand is a very strong feature that not many (for Skype it seems to be unique) other screenshot taking applications offer.

The program can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

The main interface of the software consists of a sidebar, the main sketching area and a footer that offers various design elements. The sidebar makes use of a slider to switch between various refinement levels that are supported by the program. This in effect will zoom in or out of the displayed design stage. The zoom level can also be changed easily with the mouse wheel.

DENIM was designed with pen interfaces in mind but it is also working properly with the keyboard and computer mouse. The basic elements in the toolbox at the bottom of the screen can be used to draw objects on the screen.

A right-click with the mouse will open a pie-menu that offers options to insert and edit elements among other options like saving the current design stage or exporting it to html.

DENIM is a JAVA application which means it is compatible with Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh and Linux operating systems. It can be downloaded from the project page at the website of the University of Washington.

The main Vectir interface is divided into a configuration pane and a setup pane. The configuration pane is displaying commands that have already been created either by the remote control software or by the user. These commands can be configured or disabled easily. The setup pane on the other hand is being used to create new commands that become active after creation.

The PC remote control software comes with additional options to setup mouse controls that come in handy during presentations or keyboard macros. The developers of the remote control software have created a compatibility list on their website that lists several devices that are supported by Vectir and some that are not currently.

Vectir is available as a desktop client for the Windows operating system and a mobile version for cell phones supporting Java.

Creating new address labels begins with a new project which has to be created from the main menu. The program distinguishes between single and multiple label projects for creating address labels and format labels which are good for software, product and CD labeling. Single labels only contain one layout while multiple labels can contain different layouts and information. A single label could for example be used to create address labels while multiple labels come in handy to print addresses of post recipients.

The majority of design elements can be used both for single and multiple address labels. The program will automatically display contents on the paper label including text, images and border styles after project creation. While it is relatively easy to edit the text that is displayed on the label it becomes a little bit more confusing from there.

Images can only be edited in the Preview window. The help file states that it is also possible in the project but there was no obvious button to do that. Each label can contain up to four images which can be aligned on the screen as the user sees it fit. The program only supports bmp files which should not be a huge problem as images can be converted easily into that format.

Each label is defined by the four parameters place, zorder, trace and border.

• Place: Defines margins, the size and gaps
• Zorder: The elements (like images) that are placed on the label
• Trace: Specifies the amount of labels and pages that get printed
• Border: Border elements like shape, color or thickness

Records for multiple custom labels can only be added one at a time. They can be saved to a proprietary format in the application so that they do not have to be entered again the next time though. It is not very practical for users who have to enter thousands of addresses to the application.

Paper Label Maker is a free software that requires Java on the local computer system.

The rise of mobile phones, netbooks and other mobile devices pushed the need for data compression tools that reduce the actual size of a data transfer.

Toonel (via Make Use Of) provides a solution both for desktop computer users as well as those that connect with a mobile device to the Internet. It features an impressive list of operating system it is compatible with including Windows, Linux, Macintosh, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

All versions basically function the same way. The traffic is routed through the Toonel servers which compress the communication with the user’s computer system. The user will have to set a proxy address in his favorite web browser or application so that the traffic will be compressed by the local client before it is being send to the Toonel server and from there to the destination address.

Toonel works with http, https, ftp connections and virtually any other form of TCP / IP connections. One interesting feature is to control the quality level of images which can greatly reduce the bandwidth needed to transfer the data. Users who want to save as much as possible might want to consider turning image browsing off in their application.