Top 10 free applications
Wednesday 13th March at 03:00 pm by Sam Francis | View/edit comments
As promised, here are 10 really useful free applications that you might want to consider adding to your computer.
- Web browsers: Chrome and Firefox are alternatives to Internet Explorer - we have all 3 on our computers as some sites work better in certain browsers. In our opinion Chrome is superior. It's fast and synchronises your bookmarks across several computers.
- Messaging: Skype. Now includes Windows Live Messenger (or MSN Messenger as it used to be called). You can use it to chat via instant messages, or make voice or video calls to other Skype users - all for free.
- Media: VLC. Not the prettiest media player, but supports just about any format you can throw at it, including both music and videos.
- Runtimes: Flash. Usually, you'll need to install Flash to make some websites work properly. Certain kids' websites are entirely Flash, while other sites use it to play videos or other interactive elements.
- Runtimes: Java. Like Flash, you'll probably find you need Java installed for some websites to work.
- Imaging: Paint.NET. Windows has always had the basic Paint program, but it's extremely limited. Paint.NET is no Photoshop, but you can spruce up your digital photos, crop them and more with this great free app.
- Documents: OpenOffice. Includes equivalents of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and can open Microsoft Office files, and save in formats that people who have Office can open.
- Documents: CutePDF Writer. Most of us can read PDF files as standard nowadays but some of us need the security in sending documents that cannot be changed. This is good as it doesn't have any watermarks and web popup ads.
- Security: AVG. Your laptop needs protection from malware and, short of paying for a full-blown Internet Security suite, this is one of the best free antivirus programs.
- Compression: 7-Zip. Windows can open Zip files, but 7-Zip can handle many other types of compressed files as well.
Remember, it is your responsibility to read the terms and conditions and watch out for any check boxes that might want to sign you up to other unwanted enquiries or software so don't rush the procedure.
Once you have installed all the software you think you need, create a new recovery of your entire operating system to include all these new applications, otherwise, you will have to do the whole process again if your software crashes and dies or if your hard drive malfunctions.


Where on earth did October go? Already, we are into the second week of November and before you know it, Christmas will be here. So if you’re thinking of buying a new laptop for the festive season, we have some straight forward advice for you.
Some of our customers seem to suffer from separation anxiety when they are without their laptop for more than one day. To lose it altogether might tip some of them over the edge. Don’t get me wrong, I am very fond of my laptop but if it was to disappear tomorrow, I could get along quite happily. All data stored on the laptop is backed up but most of my systems are online and accessible from any machine and from any part of the globe. If you use a laptop for business, it is essential that you too work in this way. If the worst happens and your device is lost or stolen, you need to consider whether stored information could be used against you i.e. credit card or social security numbers, bank account information, etc.
Laptops and tablets are a very popular purchase for Christmas, we know as we get lots of enquiries for reconditioned units to save a little cash, so we thought we would give you some advice before you buy.
A strong password is your first line of defence against unauthorised access to your computer. If the password is blank or is your favourite pet’s name, you will be easy picking for the degenerates of our society.
We have covered this before but battery life is still high on the agenda so here are our top three tips that will save oodles of battery life when you are not plugged into the mains;
To hit the news this week was the expected significant impact on hard drive manufacturing due to the record flooding conditions in Thailand. Supplies around the world will be affected and prices are expected to soar. One drive manufacturer, Western Digital, is completely under water-resulting in approximately 32,400,000 fewer drives in the fourth quarter alone. Compounding this crisis is the fact that Nidec, the manufacturer of the motors used by nearly every hard drive manufacturer, is also having to completely shut down. Thus, a critical component is no longer available to other HDD manufacturers. We will keep you posted.
We are pleased to announce that you can now keep up-to-date online with any
We’ve often talked about keeping your laptop safe both when you’re using it in a public place or even just carrying it in its bag. Isafe bags have come up with a great solution to help you feel more secure when traveling with your laptop on your shoulder. They have designed both a laptop bag and backpack fitted with a mobile security alarm. The alarm is easily activated, a pull on the cord sets off the audible alarm and flashing light. Not only should this attract attention to the situation but will hopefully send the would-be attackers running. By replacing the pin the alarm will be silenced and reset ready to be used again.
If you use your laptop on your lap, or leave it plugged in all the time, you may well be cruising for what some experts call Picnic (Problem in Chair Not in Computer).
The Kindle fire has definitely been the most talked about tablet in the last couple of weeks. And its being said that it could rival the Ipad.
Following the release a few months ago of the consumer based Lenovo tablet, the IdeaPad K1, Lenovo have now released their commercial model stating they are the first manufacturer to produce a model for each market. The ThinkPad Tablet was released last month with a base price of $499 (16GB). The tablet uses a 10.1-inch screen and runs Google's Android 3.1 operating system.
This is what happens when you leave your power adapter plugged into your laptop and then carry it around like that. Due to too much pressure, the centre pin has snapped during transport in the laptop bag, physically pushing the port off the board so no power will ever get to it again. Simple repair for us though, a bit of resoldering by our expert team and its back to normal. If you find that your
Jelly could be the solution to faster, more efficient and lower cost batteries say some clever researchers at
A giggle for the weekend. Just when you thought you'd seen in all, today, I came across a bizarre series of videos on YouTube showing a crazy Japanese man using the edge of his Macbook Air to cut an apple in half, dice mushrooms, and even slice shrimp. We know it's light, but we don't think this is what Apple had in mind for the super-slim notebook.
Sony have developed an accessory for laptops so the user can view 3-D images without glasses. The 3mm thick lenticular sheet has been designed for Sony's Vaio S series but can be used on any laptop that has a webcam and will be offered out to other manufactures. The sheet is 15.5 inch and clips onto the side of the laptop screen. Although this seems like a great idea, the price - approximately £115 - seems like a lot to pay to add 3-D to a laptop.
Found this great
If your battery does not seem to be charging, before you go a replace it, you need to consider a few things. It might not be the battery at all, your charger may have become faulty or you might have an
When we pick up the phone or answer an email, our customers often start with the phrase 'My laptop screen' then normally followed by 'is smashed'. The most common faults are;
An amazing deal that will last until all stock has gone - you'll be able to nab a 16GB
These days, it is very difficult to source a laptop with a com port or properly known as a serial port as this is old technology, USB has taken over. The problem is that some people still need this connectivity to work with their existing hardware. The easiest way is to source a reconditioned laptop from the likes of ebay or a
We love it when we can help someone without taking a penny from them. Today, a lady came in complaining that her screen wasn't bright enough. It turned out that she had
HP is looking to sell off its Personal Systems Group (PSG), which is responsible for is laptops and desktops for the consumer market. Confirming the news in the company’s latest earnings report. HP has said that it is looking to offload its PC division as it concentrates on its new found love of becoming a business to business rather than a consumer facing company. What this actually means is that is needs to concentrate on earning more money for its shareholders as revenue has declined 3 per cent year over year with a 5.9 per cent operating margin. HP plans instead to focus on its investments, resources and management attention to drive higher value solutions to enterprise, small and midsize business and public sector customers.
Hard disc drives (HDD) get bigger and bigger every year, but what happens when your 120GB laptop drive needs replacing? Are you aware that most of the time the replacement drive is not new and has been refurbished? This is because the manufacturers are only in the market for making drives of the current market so if you need a smaller one, it is likely to be a reconditioned one. Don’t worry though, you are not buying one that has literally come out of someone else’s machine, the suppliers do follow standard practices before the hard drive can be re-sold.
Panasonic has been an industry standard catering for the more robust user like the armed forces or field based engineers. The new Toughbook S10, however, lends itself more to the business executive with security in mind. It has all you would expect with a 12.1-inch antiglare screen but with added bonuses of;
Many companies are making employees use their laptops longer with our economy being as it is. If you are starting to tell your employees to keep plugging along with their laptops for four or five years instead of just three, you may well be running into an unexpected expense:
Here’s a great gadget, the Ergo-Tilt laptop stand, designed to keep your back, neck, and wrists relaxed as well as allowing ventilation under the laptop to help keep it cool.
As default Windows XP will put your laptop into sleep mode (standby) when you close the lid. For those of us who don’t use an external monitor, this makes justifiable sense if you have finished using it for the time being but need to go back to it shortly as it saves battery life and gives it the chance to cool down while not in use.
People often get confused between needing memory for a laptop and increasing their hard drive size. Very simply, memory helps your laptop function, like the brain does for the human body and the hard drive is where you store information, like the stomach. So if your laptop is running slow, more often than not, it may need more memory (RAM) or you might just need to reinstall your operating system from scratch and give it a good service. For advice on this, please
The web is a great tool to find out how to repair a laptop but DIY methods often get people into a sticky mess. Our team endeavor to promote methods of looking after your laptop to keep it in good health and we also have a section on our website to try and resolve issues. 







Great News! This increases my chances to buy it :-)