Safari
Apple’s web browser is now available for Windows XP and Vista. Safari had previously only been available on Macintosh operating systems. The browser is certainly quick and uses about as much memory as Mozilla Firefox; however, Safari takes up more hard drive space than Firefox: around 60Mb. Nevertheless, Safari is yet another alternative to Internet Explorer.

You can download Safari for Windows for free from here.

Firefox
There is also a new version of Firefox in the offing. At present it is still in Beta, which means that it is being tested by users and should not be considered to be finished software. According to Mozilla, Firefox 3 uses less memory than the old version - a particular complaint of mine.

You can download the Firefox 3 Beta 5 for free from here. (But be aware this is far from bug free software).

To celebrate six months of Bloody Computer! I have decided to list all the freeware software mentioned here blog so far (partly to prompt me to update the ‘Quality Freeware’ list in the left-hand column - now renamed ‘Recommended Freeware’) So, without further ado, here is the list…

Audacity: audio file editor.

AVG anti-virus free edition: anti-virus software.

Beneton Movie GIF: An application to create animated GIFs from a series of images, like a flickbook.

CamStudio: record what you see on your screen.

CCleaner: removes many non-essential files that Windows and other programs leave on your hard-drive.

dBpoweramp: convert audio files from one type to another.

dscaler: view television on your PC, if you have the appropriate hardware.

Foxit Reader: a fully featured PDF reader and a much slimmer alternative to Adobe Acrobat.

FreeUndelete: a user-friendly program to recover deleted files.

The GIMP: a fully featured image editor developed for linux but available for Windows

IcoFX: an icon creator and editor.

IrfanView: an image viewer with few editing features, and including a batch process feature, with which you can change the format of many files in one go.

mp3gain: balance the volume levels of a selection of mp3 files.

Paint.net: a friendly and intuitive image manipulation tool with many of the features found in commercial image editing packages.

PC Inspector’s File Recovery: a powerful application for resurrecting deleted or lost files, and faulty drives.

Picard: provides an interface to search the MusicBrainz database and use the information to rename and set tag information on audio files.

Real Alternative: enables you to play RealMedia files without installing RealPlayer.

Spyware Terminator: protect your PC from spyware and other malware.

Startup Control Panel: provides a means to manage which programs run automatically when Windows starts.

TreeSize: a program that provides a graphical representation of how much hard-drive space each folder is using.

VideoLAN VLC media player: multimedia player (plays most video types without need to install extra codecs).

Virtual Dub: video editing and conversion software.

Winamp: a popular mp3 player developing a large user community.

If you wish to see the posts associated with these applications including tutorials for some of them click here.

To celebrate six months of Bloody Computer! I have decided to list all the freeware software mentioned here blog so far (partly to prompt me to update the ‘Quality Freeware’ list in the left-hand column - now renamed ‘Recommended Freeware’) So, without further ado, here is the list…

Audacity: audio file editor.

AVG anti-virus free edition: anti-virus software.

Beneton Movie GIF: An application to create animated GIFs from a series of images, like a flickbook.

CamStudio: record what you see on your screen.

CCleaner: removes many non-essential files that Windows and other programs leave on your hard-drive.

dBpoweramp: convert audio files from one type to another.

dscaler: view television on your PC, if you have the appropriate hardware.

Foxit Reader: a fully featured PDF reader and a much slimmer alternative to Adobe Acrobat.

FreeUndelete: a user-friendly program to recover deleted files.

The GIMP: a fully featured image editor developed for linux but available for Windows

IcoFX: an icon creator and editor.

IrfanView: an image viewer with few editing features, and including a batch process feature, with which you can change the format of many files in one go.

mp3gain: balance the volume levels of a selection of mp3 files.

Paint.net: a friendly and intuitive image manipulation tool with many of the features found in commercial image editing packages.

PC Inspector’s File Recovery: a powerful application for resurrecting deleted or lost files, and faulty drives.

Picard: provides an interface to search the MusicBrainz database and use the information to rename and set tag information on audio files.

Real Alternative: enables you to play RealMedia files without installing RealPlayer.

Spyware Terminator: protect your PC from spyware and other malware.

Startup Control Panel: provides a means to manage which programs run automatically when Windows starts.

TreeSize: a program that provides a graphical representation of how much hard-drive space each folder is using.

VideoLAN VLC media player: multimedia player (plays most video types without need to install extra codecs).

Virtual Dub: video editing and conversion software.

Winamp: a popular mp3 player developing a large user community.

If you wish to see the posts associated with these applications including tutorials for some of them click here.

If your computer is running slowly you may have been told to defragment your hard drive. This because as large files are saved to the hard-drive they are often broken up into file fragments and stored in the gaps between other file fragments. This increases the time that Windows takes to access your files.

To check whether your drive needs to be defragmented go to My Computer, right-click on the drive’s icon, and select ‘Properties’ from the menu. Go to the ‘Tools’ tab on the dialog box that opens. Click the ‘Defragment now’ button to open the defrag program. Click the ‘Analyse’ button to get a report. Do not defrag yet, even if the software says that the drive needs defragmenting.

In order to get the most out of the defragmentation process it is best to do a little preparation beforehand. Firstly, close all the applications you are running and reboot your PC. When you are logged back in, go to your web browser and clear out the cache of files. Instructions are available on this site for doing this in Internet Explorer and Firefox. There is an excellent freeware application called CCleaner that will remove many non-essential files that Windows and other programs - including IE and Firefox - have left all over your hard-drive, you may want to download it and use it to give your drive the once-over. Now is also a good time to remove any other programs and files that you don’t need any more.

You can now go back to the defrag application by following the above instructions and run the ‘Defragment’ button, safe in the knowledge that you will be getting the most out of the process.

Note: it is best to not use the PC while it defragments the hard-drive. The process can take quite a while, so it may be worth closing any applications that are running, including those in the systray to speed up the process. If you stop your anti-virus and other protective software it is best to disconnect the PC from the Internet.