Download WinZip 14

WinZip is the first professional application of creating and opening archive files in Windows . WinZip is now under by Corel corporation ,producers of Graphics design softwares like Paint Shop PRO .They recently released the beta version of upcoming WinZip 14  . The new WinZip 14 is specially designed to support  Windows 7 OS from Microsoft. Support for touch screens, jump lists, option to zip Windows 7 image and media libraries are few notable features added as a part of Windows 7 upgrade. Zipx compression mode introduced in WinZip version 12.1 is also available in WinZip 14. The new compression algorithm used in this format is superior than normal Zip format. WinZip 14 is a shareware application available  for 45 day trial version.

WinZip 14 beta .

WinZip 14 features :

Open ZIP ,Zipx ,RAR ,7Zip and other popular archive formats .
Create Zipx file with better compression algorithm .
Create self extracting .exe archives .
Compress images with losing quality .
Create one click archives from Windows 7 libraries .
WinZip 14 supports finger gesture support in supported machines .
Upload Zip files via FTP .
Write Zip files to CD or DVD .
Email Zip archives with the support of addons .
Advanced AES encryption technology for protecting Zip archives with password .

Download WinZip 14 beta .

The beta version of WinZip 14 only intended for test purpose . You can purchase the full version of the application when it is officially launched .

Currently you need WinZip for opening  files with Zipx compression. For others there are free alternatives like UniExtract, 7Zip etc .

Improve sound quality in Windows

PC audio quality is the main concern for people while planing to purchase a new computer. The quality of the sound depends upon both the hardware and software facilities of the PC. The basic configuration of every computer will have default audio chip for processing audio . For more accurate and we might need to add another audio card .The software at the PC end should be capable of processing the audio signals delivered by the hardware. Windows media player and other media player plays these sound files with out much modulation. High end media players like PowerDVD and WinDVD include sophisticated audio processing technologies like Dolby, SRS etc. for processing 2 channel, 5 channel and even 7 channel sounds. But these players cost more. So here are few low cost software alternatives to Improve sound quality in Windows.

Improve Sound Quality using SRS audio sandbox :

Many people are still unknown about audio applications like SRS audio sandbox . SRS audio sandbox is awesome companion for music lovers and extreme gamers. The bass and clarity provided the application is otherwise only available on costly DVD software player. SRS audio sandbox installs a driver so that it work between any of your media player and hardware device to tune the output audio. So we can use this application to work with your favorite media player. It includes a set of SRS technologies like SRS Tru surround, SRS headphone, SRS Circle surround and SRS WOW HD that you can select on the basis of your requirement.

SRS provides a 14 day full working trial of SRS audio sandbox for Windows . After the trial period you can purchase the application for 24.99 USD. Recommended app for true music lovers.

Update : SRS labs official Facebook page provides coupon codes for all SRS software applications so that you can purchase them at a lower price . The current coupon code SRS10055 gives a 5 $ reduction on SRS Audio Sandbox's normal price .

Improve Sound Quality by Activating SRS Wow on Windows media player :

SRS WOW Effects plugin is added in Windows media player to improve the bass and clarity of the audio . But this plugin is not ON by default . You can enable SRS WOW Effects plugin from menus >Now playing >Enhancement > SRS Wow effects. 

Improve Sound Quality DFX Audio enhancer.

FXsound DFX audio enhancer is audio enhancer for Windows based software players like Windows media player, Real Player SP, DivX player and WinAMP. Unlike SRS audio sandbox, DFX audio enhancer is not universal. That is for each media player you need a separate DFX enhancer. Also the well renowned SRS and Dolby sound technologies are not available with this application. But still you will feel great improvement in sound when this application is launched . There is a set of audio presets and sliders that  you can arrange to set your audio preference. DFX is also available as a limited trial version with some options removed . But if you want to feel the full experience of DFX enhancer, check out the 30 day full working trial available with full version promo of  DivX pro 7 for Windows .

How to remove the Windows 7 Watermark

Microsoft imprints their evaluation and testing versions of Windows 7 with a Watermark like the one below:

It’s a minor detail that only exists in the pre-release versions of Windows 7, but some don’t like it there. Personally, I think it sucks to have it say “For testing purposes only” when you want to show off your Windows 7 installation to your friends.


Getting rid of the watermark is simple. There is a manual way to do it, which involves modifying a system file. But lhjhyc from PCBeta has provided a patch that can remove the watermark automatically. The documentation is in Chinese, so I will explain it in English here.


Warning: Some users have reported some slight stability issues after implementing this tweak. You may or may not want to implement this tweak. (Personally, I have experienced no stability or OS issue other than not being able to run MSN in Compatibility Mode)

How-To:

    1.  Download the patch here. (Use this patch if you are on Build 7048 or newer)

  

    2.   The documentation asks you to disable UAC. I manged to run the patch with UAC at its highest level for some reason. If you want to know how to disable UAC, you can access your UAC settings by typing UAC in the Start menu Search.  

    3.  Once you’re at the UAC settings window, drag the slider all the way to the bottom. You’ll have to reboot for changes to take effect.

   4.  Once you've rebooted, extract the RAR's contents and open the extracted folder.

         Right click the appropriate file, and choose Run as Administrator.

         If you are on a 32-bit version of Windows 7, run RemoveWatermarkX86.exe

         If you are on a 64-bit version of Windows 7, run RemoveWatermarkX64.exe

         The program will make some changes to your user32.dll file and create a backup of the previous file.

    5.  You have to reboot again for changes to take effect.

If something goes wrong, it says in the documentation that you can always restore your user32.dll since a backup was created earlier.

Other than disabling UAC and two restarts, the procedure should be very simple. The patch also works for getting rid of XP and Vista watermarks.

How to easily download and install Windows 7 Language Packs (MUI Packs)

Packs or MUI packs are used to change the default language of Windows 7 to a language of your choice. For example, download and installing the French language pack will translate all the menus and options in Windows 7 into French.


This feature is only available in Windows 7 Enterprise and Ultimate. You can download these language packs via Windows Update. Google works as well. The hard part is installing them, which is outlined in the walk through below:


Installing the Language Pack:


Start off by accessing the Control Panel through the Start Menu
Then select Change Display Challenge under the Clock, Language, and Region Box. If you're in Classic View, select Regional and Language Options.

Make sure you're on the "Keyboards and Languages" tab and click on Install/Uninstall Languages.

Select the 2nd option and Browse to your  DVD drive or where you had previously extracted the ISO. You only need to navigate to he directory in which the language pack is in. For some reason, the ISO doesn't show up as a selectable option. (Microsoft may offer these language packs as optional update in the near future). 

Open and Windows will automatically find the language pack. Accept the EULA and Install the Language Pack. This can take quite a while. Once you're done, you'll be asked if you want to switch to the installed language pack. Whenever you switch language pack, you will have to log off and log back in for the changes to take into effect. In the future when you want to change language packs that have already been installed, head back to the "Keyboards and Languages" tab under Regional and Language Options and you should be able to select from a menu of different language packs. Just want to note that Windows 7Beta actually switched to my new language pack without me having to log off even though it had asked me to.

Windows 7 Build 7100 Language Packs Download:

These Language Packs are untested, please download your own discretion:

• Windows 7 Build 7100 Polish MUI x64 (Megaupload)
• Windows 7 Build 7100 Italian MUI x86 (Rapishare)
• Windows 7 Build 7100 Italian MUI x64 (Rapishare)

Access and control remote computers through internet

You might have seen people at call centers fixing PC problems of remote clients by accessing their desktop right from his/her premises. The problem can be anything from a simple computer setting to viruses issues. In these situations the executive would need a remote desktop sharing applications like Teamviewer or Logmein free. Teamviewer is one of the best free full function remote access software for Windows and Mac. Teamviewer users can control the connected machine as they like. They can shutdown reboot, change settings, passwords and many more. Teamviewer  application is free for personal use. Logmein on the other side is an advanced commercial remote access application that also provide free stripped down versions for personal use. Remote desktop sharing has a dark side with security vulnerabilities that each user should take care of.

Access remote computer and control it via internet using Teamviewer :

Teamviewer is one the mostly used remote access software. Here the both the machines participating in connection need to download and install the Teamviewer application. There should also a  high speed broadband internet connection. It is mainly used for online technical support and file transfer.  After installation it generates a username and password that can be used connect both sides. Teamviewer can run as a Windows service or Windows application. In Windows service mode it generates a new password at each event of connection. Windows service is mode is best suited for servers and situations where there is no one on the remote side. There will be a permanent password so that remote machine can be controlled even before boot login. After connection you can select to create a new session. There is remote control or support ,presentation, file transfer and VPN modes. The VPN connection if used provides extra security during remote file transfer and control.

Download Teamviewer.



The full help of creating a remote Teamviewer connection to remote PC is available with this download.



Control remote computer through internet using Logmein :

Logmein free edition is very limited in functions. But the pro versions have unlimited remote control and support options. They even have an iPhone app to access  PC or Macintosh machines on the go. The both machines should have Logmein installed and themselves added the account during download. Here the remote internet control  of the two computers is done though a web interface. Full help to configure Logmein for Windows is available via this help guide. The application will be full version for the first 2 hours of connection or 30 days.

Make sure that you share your desktop to an authorized service personal or the one whom you trust.

Speed Up Windows 7

Here we are adding few more tips to this list that will definitely speed up Windows 7 to a grater performance .




1. Remove unwanted fonts and speed up Windows 7.
Fonts usually takes a lot of time during the  Windows boot load time . So you can remove unwanted fonts from your control panel and speed up windows 7 .


2.Speed up Windows 7 by proper defragmentation.
Windows has its own tools to defrag the files ,drives  and folders . Defragment arranges the files in a such a way that it keep the most used files to the outer core of the file system. If you want you can download a full version of Ashampoo Winoptimizer that includes an advanced system defragmenter .


3.Speed up Windows 7 by removing unwanted startup programs.

Many programs automatically set them to start with Windows and thereby reducing the system speed to a large level .You can disable autostart of these programs from msconfig menu in Windows 7. Press Win+R and enter msconfig and then select startup . Here you will find many application that will start with Windows 7 .Remove all those programs expect antivirus software module like AVP (Kaspersky).

4.Speed up Windows 7 by removing registry errors and unwanted files.
So many registry entries and unwanted files created when a Windows software is installed or uninstalled . So these unwanted entries accumulate and slow down a Windows computer .You can use freeware or shareware Windows utilities to fix these problems .



Download CCleaner


5. Use boot using multiple processor options to speed up Windows 7.

In computers with 2 or more cores ,we can use these multi core functionality to speed upWindows 7. Just like as in step 3 , open msconfig and select boot options . Click on advanced options and select the number of processors as 2 .

6. Disable boot time  Graphical User interface and speed up Windows 7.
Open msconfig and select boot options. Check the option noGUIboot .


7 .Disable Windows boot time sounds from control panel and speed up Windows 7.



8. Don't change Windows boot screen and logon screen.



Apply these tips . You would see a dramatic increase in your PC with Windows 7 installed .

Free network monitor software

Networks are the heart of internet and connected computers. Hence its monitoring became essential for managing the issues related with servers, websites and other applications in real-time. Network monitoring checks different factors affecting a network, like server outages, intrusions, addition of new hardware and software, changes in network configuration, bandwidth usage, downtime, system resource usages, changes in DNS settings and many others. There are softwares and web applications that could check websites and networks for issues and warn network administrator about any possible issues. We earlier shared a free website monitoring service from Pingdom  and free applications that can monitor remote computers.

The monitoring strategy is slightly different for internet connected and computers in LAN, WAN and other networks. But in each case, a server side application polls the data associated with the target in definite intervals of time . Internet based monitoring service will have so many servers at different parts of the world. These servers use different protocols to send requests to a particular website or computer and detect their continuity.

Free network monitor software PRTG Network Monitor 7 :

Download PRTG network monitor free edition.

PRTG network management application has free and commercial versions. The free edition comes with almost all features of commercial application with limitation in monitored nodes. PRTG network monitor software can check uptime and downtime, network traffic and data usage, packet analysis and give a detailed graphical report for different time periods. It supports more than 40 types of protocols to request and test network uptime.There is an option to receive SMS, pager and email alerts on server outages. The interface of the application is pretty much simple to understand and operate. There are other freeware server network monitor applications, but PRTG network monitor is the best and concise application with free tag .