STRATFORD, NJ, USA
When I bought my laptop back in September, I decided to have some fun with it. I didn’t go after the highest-end machine out there; instead, I wanted to see how much functionality I could get out of a bargain-basement machine ($350 + $25 memory upgrade) using only free software. I downloaded OpenOffice, GIMP, Firefox, VLC, etc. And I was shocked by just how much performance I’ve been able to get out of this thing. (After I reformatted my HD, that is.)
I’ve still been keeping my eyes out for free programs to enhance my computing experience, and I recently came across two pieces of lesser-known software for Windows that I wanted to recommend.
The first is FoxIt Reader:
Foxit Reader is a free PDF document viewer and printer, with incredible small size (only 2.55 M download size), breezing-fast launch speed and rich feature set. Foxit Reader supports Windows Me/2000/XP/2003/Vista. Its core function is compatible with PDF Standard 1.7.
For most people, this is suitable as a replacement for Adobe Acrobat reader. I know it is for me. It does everything that I commonly use Acrobat reader for, and it is SO much faster. A pdf now opens as quickly as a web page does over my high-speed connection; I no longer have Acrobat installed, and I no longer have to deal with splash screens, long load times, phantom start-up programs, or the slow-downs that accompany Adobe’s RAM-hungry pdf reader.
The second is XNeat Windows Manager:
XNeat Windows Manager adds additional features to the Windows taskbar and system tray, that enables you to minimize any window to an icon in the system tray (instead of the taskbar), keep any window on top, set a custom transparency level, and also hide any window or tray icon, furthermore the program allows you to re-arrange the order of the taskbar buttons by simply dragging them around. XNeat Windows Manager integrates into the right-click menu of the taskbar and system tray. It also allows you to change the taskbar appearance by hiding the Start button, system clock and other elements.
Caveat: I’m using Vista Basic, and I think some of this functionality may be built into the Aero GUI of higher-end versions of Vista. But for me, this adds so much functionality that I don’t know how I ever did without it in the past. I find XNeat especially useful for locking streaming video windows to the top of my screen so that I can work or browse the web in full-screen windows without having to toggle back and forth between window. It’s also convenient to transpose numbers from web pages into spreadsheets. And, although I never missed it before I had it, being able to re-arrange taskbar buttons and minimizing items to the systray is also convenient.
My “low-end” computer does literally everything I need it to do without compromising on performance. In fact, it has been that way for a while. But these two utilities have helped bring my computer up to an even higher level. I recommend them both.
Filed under: Life, Random Tagged: | computers, FoxIt, pdf, Xneat
