Windows only Folder Monitor is a free Windows app that can track changes to folders you select. The types of changes include a file being created, changed, renamed, or deleted. When one of those events occur you can have a visual notification appear, a sound played, and a command line action taken.
Windows only We've seen all kinds of apps that assist with finding large files and folders on your machine, but you often don't have much control over the kinds of files and folders that are returned.
I hate when I'm sitting at work only to look out the window and realize that it is starting to rain. Then when I go to look at the radar it is a major storm that is moving in, and had I left 30 minutes earlier I wouldn't have had to worry about pulling out my umbrella.
Windows only If you'r worried that something may be going on behind-the-scenes on your computer TCPEye is an app that may put your mind at ease. It monitors all TCP and UDP ports on your computer for activity, and displays the information in a list like the one pictured above. Here is a quick rundown on what the app will tell you about each TCP or UDP connection on your machine:
I've run into the situation before where I've needed to empty the Recycle Bin for all users on a multi-user computer.
Windows only I never thought I'd find a file archiver that I liked better than 7-Zip, but the interface provided by Hamster ZIP Archiver has really won me over. Not only can you compress files as both ZIP and 7Z formats, but it also looks great while it is doing the dirty work.
Windows only Last week I needed to create hundreds of empty folders for a project I was working on, and I was trying to figure out the best way to create the folders in bulk. I thought I was going to have to write my own script to do it, but as it turns out a member of the DonationCoder forum posted an awesome app he whipped up called Text 2 Folders.
Windows only If you are anything like me you likely hate when something makes itself start with Windows without first notifying you.
The new (default) Windows 8 interface is something that Microsoft has spent a lot of time rethinking, and will drastically shift the way we use computers. The good news is that the classic Windows 7-style interface is still buried underneath for those that want it, but you won't be able to move completely away from the Metro-style UI.
I remember when Microsoft first came out with Windows Vista and they introduced the Aero theme. One of the computers I had at that time didn't have the graphics chip needed to support the Aero interface in all its splendor. Going back and using the Windows Basic theme was rather depressing because not only did it look clunky, but you couldn't even customize the color.
When things start to go wrong on your computer what is one of the first things you do (after punching your monitor, of course)? Often times I resort to Safe Mode, which prevents a lot of third-party and non-critical processes from starting up. If you try to enter Safe Mode in Windows 8 using the typical F8 key you'll be a little shocked when you're not actually prompted to enter Safe Mode.
Like many of the geeks out there I downloaded the Windows 8 Developer Preview last week so that I could play around with it.
Windows only Programs like Notepad++ are great because they provide powerful text file editing, but the searching can leave something to be desired. Text Filter is an app dedicated to searching through text files and it does a great job of it. It instantly highlights results as you type, and can optionally hide lines that don't contain any matches.
Sometimes keeping track of website pages can be a pain. Maybe you want to monitor a certain section of a webpage, such as the price of an item on Amazon. Page Monitor for Google Chrome lets you do exactly that, and does so intelligently.
When you go to a website you may see a font that looks interesting and sparks some curiosity as to what font type was used. There are all kinds of web developer tools that make finding this info pretty easy, but all you really need is the WhatFont bookmarklet. When you run the bookmarklet you'll be able to click on any of the text on the page you're viewing to see more details about it.
Notepad (in Windows) has a unique feature that a lot of people don't know about. If you open a file in Notepad where the first line contains ".LOG" you will automatically see the current time and date appended to the end of the file. Here is how it works:
Windows; Mac; Linux The other day I needed to scan a range of IP addresses to find out which ones were actually in use, and I began looking for a tool that might make that task a little easier. I found some things that could be run through the command line/terminal, but I figured there had to be something that had a GUI. That's when I stumbled across Angry IP Scanner.
Windows only Before posting or sharing photos you might like the piece of mind knowing that there isn't any identifiable information stored in the metadata of your images. For example, if you've taken a photo using your cellphone there is a good chance that the image was also tagged with the GPS location where it was shot.
Windows only Windows includes several different command line tools that are useful for viewing network-related details on your computer such as ipconfig, route, and netstat. The ipconfig command provides TCP/IP configuration information, route lets you modify your system's IP routing table, and netstat displays active connections and ports.
Windows only I have seen all kinds of utilities that tap into the context menu that appears when you right-click on an application's titlebar. Often times they can adjust the transparency, pin the window so that it stays on top, and adjust the process priority of the app.
