Saturday, March 26, 2011

10 Uses for Spare Thumbdrives

Amplify’d from lifehacker.com
indows Vista and Windows 7 users can turn

10. Keep Linux (or Windows) in Your Pocket


If Linux is a sometimes operating system (you know, like cookies are a sometimes food for Cookie Monster), there are plenty of tiny Linux distributions that will fit on practically any thumb drive. You can even multiple boot options and boot to each of them in in a virtualized environment. If you work the other way around and prefer Linux but sometimes need to run Windows, you can always install a light version of Windows onto a thumb drive and boot from it as well. Even a portable Hackintosh is an option.



9. Make a Contemporary Mix "Tape"


The art of the mix tape has been a little bit lost in the digital age. While it's definitely fun to share playlists with tools like Mixtape.me so you can send your friends music, when you want to make a personalized gift it isn't quite the same with just a URL. While you're not going to do much good by creating an old-fashioned mix tape with your dual-cassette boom box, you can use a spare thumb drive to bring a physical element to your mix. You could even disguise it as an analog tape. (We're not the first ones to think of that.)



8. Make an Encrypted, Disposable "Spy" Drive


Top 10 Clever Uses for Spare Thumb DrivesIf you're really a spy, chances are you've got something a little bit cooler than an encrypted flash drive, but since most of us aren't really in the spying business we can still have a little fun with what we've got. If you've got a small thumb drive you're not really using anymore and need to pass along some secret data to a friend (or stranger you have no choice but to trust), throw it on that drive and use TrueCrypt to keep the data encrypted on the fly. We can't help you make it self-destruct when the data's been retrieved—and that's probably for the best—but it is a piece of technology, after all, so you shouldn't find it too hard to break.



7. Create a Digital Time Capsule


Perhaps thumb drives won't exist in the future and we'll transfer all our data using microscopic dots embedded in our actual thumbs. Creepy. But if you want to create a replica of the past and inform the children of the future how things used to be—and you should, because children of the new millenium don't even know what white out is—you can make a time capsule out of a spare thumb drive. If it's going to stand the test of time, you might want to make it indestructable (or just get one of these). Whatever thumb drive you use, fill it with information about the world today and bury it somewhere. It'll be a lot less work to bury a thumb drive than a huge metal container, right?



6. Make a Virtual RAM Drive


Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can turn their thumb drives into virtual RAM disks, which can be pretty useful if you need a little extra and are low on disk space (especially if your thumb drive is fast). While it won't be a replacement for a real RAM upgrade, it can be a pretty useful alternative until you're able to get the real thing.



5. Create a Digital Travel Kit


Top 10 Clever Uses for Spare Thumb Drives Some of us like to take our laptops on our vacations and some of us don't, but either way you can benefit from creating a USB thumb drive travel kit. If you're not taking your computer but want a few important files and applications for the occasional stop at the internet cafe, a thumb drive can help you out. Even if you do take your laptop, a spare thumb drive is a good place to keep copies of receipts, car rental agreements, and other files you should have copies of when traveling but don't necessarily want (or need) to print out. If you need to take any sensitive data, you can always <a href="use TrueCrypt to keep the data encrypted on the fly">encrypt it. You may never need to use it, but it's nice to know you have what you need in one convenient location.



4. Create an Easy App Install Drive with Ninite


Ninite is a really great tool for Windows and Linux that helps you install a bunch of free apps by creating a single installer for all of them. What's a great place for that installer? On a spare thumb drive! If you need to set up a new computer quickly and don't have internet access, that spare drive can be indispensable. A more likely scenario, however, is when a less tech-savvy friend or family member needs to set up a new machine and you want to get them used to using something other than the crap the machine came with. Make them a thumb drive with a Ninite installer and you can be sure they'll get the important stuff installed.



3. Use It as a Portable Pocket Arcade


Top 10 Clever Uses for Spare Thumb Drives With tons of free game emulators for classic consoles, as well as game ROMs that take up very little disk space, you can put together a classic arcade you can keep in your pocket, backpack, or pretty much anywhere. Retro games are a lot of fun, but when all your save files are confined to a single computer you're stuck playing in one location. Keeping everything on a thumb drive will let you plug in and play wherever you can find a machine so you can always partake in a little console game nostalgia whenever you like.



2. Make a Personal Portable App Drive


Top 10 Clever Uses for Spare Thumb Drives Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is great and a lot of it is portable. So are a number of regular applications. We've made a bunch of suggestions for small, portable apps you can store on a spare thumb drive but those were mainly for Windows. There are also plenty of options for Mac OS X. You can even create a portable version of Dropbox to sync your files. If you want to have access to your stuff no matter what computer you're on, keeping a portable thumb drive handy is a great way to do it.



1. Create an Emergency Recovery Kit


Top 10 Clever Uses for Spare Thumb DrivesComputers are hardly perfect and bad things happen. System files get corrupted, hard drives die, and so on. Whatever the cause of the problem may be, you may be able to fix it with some handy tools that you can run from a bootable thumb drive. We've looked at the many ways you can save your Windows system with a thumb drive, XBoot can help you make a bootable rescue drive for Linux, and Mac OS X users can simply clone their system restore DVD and run the utilities it provides. It sucks when computers have problems, but if you know something can go wrong and you have a plan in place to take care of it then you can mitigate the potential damage quickly and easily.

Read more at lifehacker.com
 

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Browser Battle 2011

Browser Battle 2011: Who Is the New King of the Web?

from Maximum PC by Paul Lilly


The last time Maximum PC played host to a knock-down, drag-out dogfight for the browser crown, it was predominantly a two way scuffle featuring Mozilla’s spunky Firefox browser, then in version 2.0, versus Microsoft’s revitalized Internet Explorer, which had just been updated to IE7. We ultimately declared Firefox the winner, but that was four years ago, which, in computer years, is an eternity. Boy how things have changed since then, and at the same time, stayed the same.


For starters, Internet Explorer still claims the largest share of the browser market. This has been the case for more than a decade now. Firefox, meanwhile, has maintained its rank as the world’s second most used browser and remains a fan favorite among enthusiasts.


But there’s also now a third contender vying for browser dominance. We’re of course talking about Google Chrome, which didn’t even exist four years ago. That’s OK, because Chrome has had little difficulty making up for lost time. Now in version 10, Chrome’s expanded feature set and growing popularity have earned it the right to go up against IE9 and Firefox 4. These are the latest and greatest among the “Big 3” browser makers, and what’s at stake is not just bragging rights, but piles of advertising dollars and control over emerging web standards.


Our goal is to figure out which of these three is the best vehicle for navigating cyberspace. We’ll be paying particular attention to new features, security, privacy, and of course performance. We’ll even throw in a few power user tips for each one. And for those of you who roll with Opera and Safari, don’t worry, we’ll cover the latest versions of those, too. In the words of Michael Buffer, “Let’s get ready to rumble!” 


Google Chrome 10



 Sleek, fast, and one version short of awesome


It’s hard to imagine now, but Google CEO Eric Schmidt initially wanted no part of the “bruising browser wars,” or so he told the Wall Street Journal in 2009. Co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page did, however, and they hired a few Firefox developers to build a concept version of Chrome. Schmidt was instantly convinced Chrome could be a game changer, and less than three years after its introduction, Chrome’s browser market share sits in double-digits. Chrome follows an aggressive release schedule and the version we’re looking at here is Chrome 10 (final).


What’s New?


Google didn’t invent the web browser, but it did popularize the concept of a minimalistic interface. Chrome 10 retains this bare-bones approach and takes it a step further by eliminating the Page button. Now the Wrench icon sits by itself to the right of the Omnibar.



Other changes are just as subtle. The Options menu now opens in a tab and includes an awesome search function. Type password, for example, and you’re presented with a bunch of related options and privacy settings, which would normally appear on separate pages. Also new to Chrome 10, you can synchronize passwords, not just other items, between various computers.


Security


Chrome has always been big on security, and version 10 includes dozens of patches. It also updates automatically and disables outdated plugins so you’re never rocking a compromised build, so long as you restart Chrome when prompted.


Google expanded Chrome’s sandboxing feature to wrap around the browser’s integrated Adobe Flash Player plugin. This is important because Flash seems to be attracting more attention from hackers lately. It took a collaborative effort from Adobe and Google to put Flash in a sandbox, adding an additional layer of protection by isolating it from the OS.


Privacy


If you steer clear of thunderstorms because it’s too risky with your tinfoil hat, then you’re probably worried Chrome is just another vehicle for Google to track your every move. The disclaimer that Chrome “only communicates with Google services where absolutely necessary to deliver features and functionality” probably doesn’t help, but Google points out that you can disable features that require this.



We also applaud Chrome’s Incognito private browsing mode which, unlike Firefox, can be run in a separate browser window simultaneously with a regular browser window.


Performance


In addition to popularizing the concept of a minimalistic browser UI, the other thing Chrome is known for is speed. Chrome 10 kicked it up a notch with its retooled CrankShaft JavaScript engine and ran circles around the other browsers in the majority of our JavaScript-specific benchmarks. It reminded us of that scene where Superman circles the Earth to reverse its rotation.


Unfortunately, Chrome 10 lacks GPU-assisted acceleration, at least by default. Even when enabled—which entails mucking with secret commands – Chrome struggles to process 3D content at the same clip as FF4 and IE9. (See our comparative benchmarks chart on page 48).


Power User Tips


1. Turn on GPU acceleration by typing about:flags in the Omnibar. Enable GPU Accelerated Computing and GPU Accelerated Canvas 2D.



2. To make a favicon-only bookmarks bar, simply delete the text in the Name field when saving a bookmark. If you do this, Chrome will just show the favicon, and you’ll earn 200 geek cred points.


3. Get a geeky breakdown of Chrome’s resource management by typing about:memory into the Omnibar, which even shows how much memory other open browsers are using.



 


Microsoft Internet Explorer 9



Look who decided to show up to the modern-day browser scene!


Internet Explorer’s tight integration with Windows played a big role in Microsoft’s ability to bury its one-time nemesis, Netscape Navigator. IE’s market share skyrocketed, and then innovation came to a screeching halt. More than five years passed between the release of IE6 and IE7, and there have only been two major revisions since then. 


But now, there's Internet Explorer 9.


What’s New?


Out of the box, IE9 affords more real estate for browsing than either Chrome or Firefox, and that’s because Microsoft whittled the UI down to the bare essentials. Everything’s been consolidated to a single row, with tabs appearing to the right of the dual-purpose URL/search bar.



IE9 integrates well with Windows 7, and specifically Aero Snap. To view web pages side-by-side, you simply drag two tabs to opposite ends of the screen and they’ll snap in place next to each other. You can also pin sites to the Taskbar simply by dragging them there.


There’s a new Download Manager (finally!) that lets you pause downloads, an Add-on Performance Advisor that audits add-ons and tells you how much they’re bogging down your browser, and if you right-click anywhere in the main window, you can navigate directly to an address copied to your clipboard.



Security


One of the biggest concerns with Internet Explorer has always been Microsoft’s ActiveX technology, which hackers like to use as a gateway to install malicious software on your PC. Microsoft introduced Per-Site ActiveX controls in IE8, prompting users when a site tries to run ActiveX. Microsoft has taken it a step further in IE9 with ActiveX Filtering, which allows users to turn off ActiveX controls for the entire web and enable them only for trusted sites.


IE9 includes an improved Smart Screen filter that checks websites for malicious code, and the Download Manager performs several security checks before downloading files. There’s also a cross-site scripting (XSS) filter that helps prevent compromised websites from recording your login information.


Privacy


By now you’re undoubtedly familiar with IE’s InPrivate Browsing mode, or porn mode. The feature remains in IE9.


Private browsing was last year’s big ticket item. This year it’s tracking protection. IE9 offers surfers a new opt-in mechanism that blocks elements of websites from tracking your online behavior. This is accomplished by subscribing to Tracking Protection Lists (TPLs), which you have to seek out on your own and enable. It’s sort of like a cross between a Do Not Call list and a lite version of AdBlock, in that some ads end up being blocked, depending on which list(s) you subscribe to.



Performance


Despite the drastic new look to IE9, the biggest changes are all behind the scenes. Microsoft rewrote the layout engine from the ground up for rich, interactive sites, and the new Chakra JavaScript engine is several times faster than in previous versions of IE. Hardware accelerated graphics also play a big role in IE9, which is revealed in several tech demos on IE9’s website.


Is IE9 fast? The answer is yes, and this is the first version of IE that doesn’t feel as though it’s being dragged down by unnecessary cruft. And while it’s still not as snappy as Chrome, IE9 has the edge in processing GPU-accelerated content, at least temporarily.


Power User Tips


1. To always open IE9 in full-screen mode, open up your system registry (Start > Regedit) and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain. Change the Fullscreen value to Yes.


2. To run InPrivate Mode automatically, create a desktop shortcut and type the following in the path box: “C:Program FilesInternet Exploreriexplore.exe” –private 


3. Don’t like the placement of the Stop and Refresh buttons? Right-click and select “Show Stop and Refresh before Address bar.”



 


Next Page: Mozilla Firefox 4, and Opera 11!


 




 


Mozilla Firefox 4 



Still the best option for power users 


Firefox is an open-source alternative to Microsoft’s proprietary browser, and like Russell. Crowe in Gladiator, Firefox has been winning the crowd ever since it stepped into the ring. Mozilla had just released its first Release Candidate of Firefox 4 when we put this story together, so that’s what we used for testing. The final version should be out by the time you read this.


What’s New?


Mozilla completely overhauled the user interface in Firefox 4 with the intention of making it sleeker and easier to use. It’s the biggest aesthetic update since Firefox first came out, and a welcome one if you appreciate less clutter. All the menu items are neatly tucked away and accessible via a single Firefox button in the upper left corner.



New features abound, like the ability to sync your browser settings across multiple devices, multitouch support in Windows 7, and a new tabbed interface drawing inevitable comparisons to Chrome. The Add-On Manager now opens in a tab, too.


Security


As you might expect, Firefox 4 is the most secure version of Firefox yet. It’s also the least glamorous topic because many of the safeguards that keep the bad guys away work silently in the background. One of the biggest new security safeguards is a new feature called HTTP Strict Transport Security. This is supposed to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks that hijack regular HTTP connections and make them appear as HTTPS, like when logging into a banking institution using an untrustworthy network (think of a public Wi-Fi hotspot). Support in Firefox is only half of the equation; HSTS also requires websites to play ball.



Privacy


Firefox’s Private Browsing mode is left largely unchanged in Firefox 4, which means you can’t run an incognito session and a regular session simultaneously like you can in Chrome, even if you have multiple browser windows open. Firefox does, however, restore your regular session when you’re finished, um, looking up anniversary gifts (that is why you use Private Browsing, right?).


There’s a new Do Not Track feature receiving tons of hype. When enabled (found under Options > Advanced), Firefox sends a header to websites telling them you don’t want to be followed. It’s a neat idea, but still relies on the honor system; a website can choose to blatantly ignore your request.


Performance


Midway through Firefox 4’s development, Mozilla injected the browser with its JägerMonkey JavaScript engine, a wise move considering that earlier betas of the next-generation browser felt sluggish and were getting slammed in the enthusiast community. In its current form, Firefox 4 runs and feels much faster than its predecessor, though it still isn’t as nimble as Chrome in JavaScript heavy tasks. But unlike Chrome, Firefox boasts hardware acceleration, tapping into your GPU to boost performance when rendering graphics heavy tasks. Chrome will address this in version 11, but for the time being, the advantage belongs to Firefox (and IE9). 


Power User Tips


1. To quickly view pages you’ve recently visited, right-click the left and/or right arrow(s).


2. Is your favorite Firefox 3.6 add-on blocked in FF4? Type about:config in the address bar. Right-click and select New > Boolean, and enter extensions.checkCompatibility.4.0. Select False for the value.



3. Miss the menu bar? Bring it back by pressing Alt > View > Toolbars > Menu Bar.



 


 


Opera 11



The Opera browser finally sings with add-ons


One of the great innovators in the browser space, Norwegian software maker Opera Software has been in the browser business for 14 years, either inventing or popularizing forward-thinking concepts that we take for granted today, like tabbed browsing. This time around, Opera 11, which we’re reviewing in final form, plays catch-up to the other browsers in this roundup.


What’s New?


Given Opera Software’s long history of blazing a trail in browser development, it’s a bit ironic that Opera is one of the last browsers to adopt extensions, which are finally included here in the latest build. At the time of this writing, there were just 446 add-ons to choose from, though that’s 446 more than were available for Opera 10. We also find it interesting that Opera is just now getting around to adding predictive text queries, known as search suggestions. Opera 11 also introduces tab stacking, allowing you to plop tabs on top of each other in manageable groups, as well as visual mouse gestures—a handy cheat sheet appears when you hold the right mouse button.



Security


Opera 11 makes intelligent use of the address field to give users a quick rundown of a website’s security. When visiting a site, most of the URL is grayed out or hidden, save for the main domain. In addition, security badges are color-coded, with yellow for secure, green for trusted, blue for Opera’s Turbo mode, and gray for the rest. Clicking these badges reveals a site’s encryption level and whether or not it has a clean security record.


Privacy


The option to open a private browsing session is buried deeper than in the other browsers here (Menu > Tabs and Windows > New Private Window), but once you find it, you’ll also see an option to open a private tab. And when installing extensions, two privacy checkboxes let you choose whether or not to allow them to interact with secure pages and/or private tabs.


Performance


Hardware acceleration isn’t being introduced until version 11.5, so already Opera’s a bit behind the performance curve compared to some of the competition. But what version 11 lacks in GPU-assisted rendering, it makes up for in JavaScript performance and overall pep. Subjectively, browsing just feels fast, and objectively Opera 11’s benchmark scores were competitive. Sadly, performance in some cases comes at the cost of compatibility, such as the inability to use Google’s Instant Search for search queries or Instant Scrolling for images.



 


Next Page: Safari 5, the performance benchmarks, and we declare a winner!


 




 


Safari 5



One of the fastest browsers around (in 2010)


It’s easy to tell that Apple developed the Safari browser, which looks like it was plucked straight from Mac OS X. That’s because it was. Safari started off as a Mac-only browser in 2003 before making the jump to Windows in 2007. Safari 5, the last major update, came out in June 2010.


What’s New?


If you abhor flipping through multipage articles, you’ll instantly fall in love with Safari Reader. This handy tool automatically detects when you’re on an article page and presents a Reader icon in the address bar. Clicking it brings up the entire article in a scrollable eBook-like reader in the foreground stripped of extra elements, like ads and buttons. It’s an awesome way to digest longer write-ups.


Safari 5 supports extensions, which are divided into 16 categories. There’s also a hidden extension builder accessible by enabling the Develop menu in the menu bar (Settings > Preferences > Advanced) if you want to try your hand at making your own add-ons.



Security


On the Mac OS X platform, Safari tags downloads with certain vitals, like when a file was downloaded and where it came from. That same information isn’t available in Windows, though Safari’s other safeguards extend across both platforms. Safari blocks tracking cookies by default, as well as pop-up ads, and it also includes a cross-site scripting (XSS) auditor that sniffs out and filters malicious scripts. 


Privacy


Steve Jobs once famously said, “Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone,” but it turns out they can also use Safari, which includes a private browsing mode like all the other browsers in this roundup. And like the others, Apple pitches less obscene uses for private browsing, like checking your email at a library (yeah, sure).


Safari 5 boasts built-in parental controls for parents of kids who aren’t computer savvy enough to figure out how to circumvent them, but this is another option native to Mac OS X and not available in Windows. If you do own a Mac, you can set up a list of approved websites and view activity logs, all within the browser.


Performance


Six months ago we’d be singing a different tune, but compared to the current crop of browsers, Safari 5 is a step behind. The Nitro JavaScript engine is in need of another tune-up, and while hardware acceleration is present, it didn’t pay off in benchmarks. And what’s with not being able to search in the URL bar? Boo!



 


Browser Performance








































































































Chrome 10Firefox 4Internet Explorer 9Safari 5Opera 11
Futuremark Peacekeeper10,963*5,1437,2305,56310,966*
SunSpider (ms)231.2226195.1*303.1227.9
Google V89,743*4,6933,0062,9954,362
Celtic Kane JSBenchmark856*610499518635
NonTroppo Table Rendering (ms)227
538777136*304
GUIMark HTML5 (fps)7.421.620.15.534.6*
Mozilla Dromaeo JavaScript (runs per second)715.5*
491591.3290.4470.5
Acid31009795100100
Microsoft Preschool Demo (Sec)15.5
13.23.9*WNRWNR
Microsoft Maze Solver Demo (sec)189104141188.8*
Microsoft Psychadelic Demo (rpm)74
3,016†10,1203846†




Best scores have an asterisk. Our test bed was a Intel Core i7 930, Asus P6X58D Premium, 6GB Corsair DDR3/1333 RAM, a Radeon HD 5850, a Kingston 64GB SSDNow, and Windows 7 Professional 64-bit. †Did not play sound.


 


And the Winner is…



If we’ve learned anything here, it’s that the browser market is in great shape. Firefox still gets our nod as the best of the best, but it’s not a runaway victory. If Chrome came with hardware acceleration enabled by default—and it will in version 11—then we might have had to give the nod to Google. Chrome is fast, it’s polished, and its extensions library is fleshed out. But so is Firefox 4, which has the added benefit of tapping into your GPU without the need to muck around with advanced code.


While enthusiasts debate the merits of Chrome versus Firefox, the biggest surprise is Internet Explorer 9. For the first time in a long time, a case can also be made for IE as the best browser of the bunch. We’re not willing to go that far with it, but there’s no doubt IE9 is a potential game changer for Microsoft, and not a moment too soon. IE’s market share lead continues to shrink as users seek out faster, sleeker browsers, and IE9 is both of those, plus a whole lot more. If IE9 represents the direction Microsoft is headed, Chrome and Firefox could be in trouble.


Alternative browser users don’t have it quite as good. Safari is a generation behind, and while we’re fans of Opera, the latest release is more about catching up to the competition than blazing a new trail, as has been Opera’s MO. Still, it’s another solid option among many.

Read more at www.maximumpc.com
 

Monday, March 14, 2011

Free Days at the National Parks

Amplify’d from www.nps.gov

Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

America's Best Idea – the national parks – gets even better with several fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees.*

Waterfall at Yosemite National Park, Photo by DanNg, NPS

Mark your calendar for these fee-free days in 2011:




  • January 15-17

    (Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)



  • April 16-24

    (National Park Week)



  • June 21

    (First day of summer)



  • September 24

    (Public Lands Day)



  • November 11-13

    (Veterans Day weekend)
Read more at www.nps.gov
 

Interactive Pictures of Tsunami Damage


Monday, March 07, 2011

100 Accomplishments of President Obama

Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:



1. Signed an Executive Order on government contracting to fight waste and abuse:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/economy_in_government_contracting



2. Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, restoring basic protections against pay discrimination for women and other workers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtKAKlurRAY



3. Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan-and-NATO



4. Announced a plan to responsibly end the war in Iraq:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/washington/28troops.html



5. Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/pentagon-will-help-families



6. Ended media blackout on war casualties and the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7986203.stm



7. Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

http://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx



8. Launched Recovery.gov to track spending from the Recovery Act, an unprecedented step to provide transparency and accountability through technology:

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx



9. Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:

http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov



10. Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-small-business-owners



11. Invested heavily in education both as a way to provide jobs now and lay the foundation for long-term prosperity:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education



12. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America’s Veterans:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans



13. Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html



14. Limited lobbyist's access to the White House:

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/obama-outlines-lobbying-restrictions



15. Issued an Presidential Memorandum to restore scientific integrity in government decision-making:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Memorandum-for-the-Heads-of-Executive-Departments-and-Agencies-3-9-09



16. Answered questions at the first online town hall from the White House that were submitted and voted on transparently by the public at WhiteHouse.gov:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h2uzQs2_XBgeHotRBvNhY7DR572g



17. Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:

http://www.serve.gov



18. Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:

http://www.business.gov



19. Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:

http://www.cio.gov



20. Signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:

http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009



21. Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding



22. Signed the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the first piece of comprehensive legislation aimed at improving the lives of Americans living with paralysis:

http://www.christopherreeve.org/site/c.ddJFKRNoFiG/b.4442889/k.EC4B/Christopher_and_Dana_Reeve_Paralysis_Act.htm



23. Announced creation of a Joint Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record for members of the U.S. Armed Forces to improve quality of medical care:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/09/The-Care-They-Were-Promised-and-the-Benefits-That-They-Have-Earned



24. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html



25. Committed to phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdates weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/06/gates.budget.cuts



26. Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908954,00.html



27. Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html



28. Played a lead role in G-20 Summit that produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis:

http://www.g20.org



29. Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisition_Reform_Act_of_2009



30. Ordered the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay and a review of our detention and interrogation policy, and prohibited the use of torture:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/index.html



31. Appointed Special Envoys for Climate Change, Southwest Asia, the Middle

East, Sudan, and a Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan:

http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2009/January/20090122175146idybeekcm1.328677e-02.html



32. Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html



33. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html



34. Increased minority access to capital:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital



35. Developed a comprehensive new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan that will help defeat Al Qaeda and authorized the deployment of more than 21,000 troops to Afghanistan:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/27/AR2009032700836.html



36. Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-signs-hou.html



37. Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:

http://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act



38. Increased, for the first time in more than a decade, the fuel economy standards for Model Year 2011 for cars and trucks so they will get better mileage, saving drivers money and spurring companies to develop more innovative products:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22650.html



39. Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we’ll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ApplianceEfficiencyStandards



40. Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean’s vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:

http://www.earthday.org



41. Announced a new U.S.-Mexico border initiative:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Administration-Officials-Announce-US-Mexico-Border-Security-Policy-A-Comprehensive-Response-and-Commitment



42. Concluded cyberspace policy review:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-by-the-Press-Secretary-on-Conclusion-of-the-Cyberspace-Review



43. Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered



44. Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-On-Bilateral-Meeting-With-President-Hu-Of-China



45. Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html



46. Increased minority access to capital:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital



47. Issued a Presidential Memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act instructing the Attorney General to issue new guidelines to the government implementing those same principles of openness and transparency in the processing of FOIA requests:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Freedom_of_Information_Act



48. Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:

http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC



49. The Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents, severely curtailing the ability to use executive privilege to shield those documents:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential_Records



50. Signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, a hallmark piece of legislation:

http://www.democrats.org/a/2009/04/edward_m_kenned.php



51. Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:

http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/02/pew_finds_credi.html



52. Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and

families:

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls



53. Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:

http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/February/20090210163128saikceinawz0.7537805.html



54. Ordered secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere to be closed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_site



55. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord



56. Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm



57. Provided better body armor to our troops:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-26-body-armor_x.htm



58. Authorized cutting the missile defense program by $1.4 billion in 2010:

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62548



59. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25



60. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:

http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism



61. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o



62. Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp



63. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri



64. Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw



65. Provided new car tax credit:

http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/new-car-tax-credit



66. Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:

http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html



67. Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html



68. Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:

http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009



69. Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html



70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. Today, the Dow closed at 10,309.24:

http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html



71. Earned an unprecedented success rate of 96.7% on winning congressional votes on issues where he took a position. He did even better than legendary arm-twister Lyndon Johnson who had a 93% success rate in 1965:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122436116



72. Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care



73. Restored America's reputation as a global leader that will do the "right thing" in world affairs:

http://pewglobal.org/docs/?DocID=12



74. Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm



75. Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:

http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks



76. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570



77. Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class



78. Cracked down on companies that deny sick pay, vacation and health insurance to workers by abusing the employee classification of independent contractor. Such companies also avoid paying Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance taxes for those workers:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/business/18workers.html



79. Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act that made it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/hate.crimes/index.html



80. Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-Announces-Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Assistant-to-the-Preside



81. Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Veterans-Health-Care-Budget-Reform-and-Transparency-Act



82. Held impromptu press conference to urge Congress to investigate Anthem Blue Cross and other corporate health insurance companies that raise premiums in high amounts without explanation. Rep. Henry Waxman launches probe. In this case, Anthem Blue Cross wanted to raise premiums 39%. They have now put the increase on hold for two months (as of February 2010). Legislation preventing such increases pending:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100218/hl_nm/us_usa_healthcare_insurers



83. Designated $1.5 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program to fund programs at local housing finance agencies in the states hardest hit by the housing crisis: California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan. The MBA forecasts that foreclosures will peak in the last quarter of 2010:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35476054/ns/business-stocks_and_economy



84. Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:

http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010a.html



85. Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:

http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/how-to-get-extended-cobra-health-coverage-subsidies



86. Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm



87. Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report



88. Rescinded the Global Gag Rule:

http://www.guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2009/01/23/index.html



89. Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:

http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319



90. Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq



91. Provided tax credits to first-time home buyers through the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 to revitalize the U.S. housing market:

http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com



92. Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:

http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1671



93. Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:

http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html



94. Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html



95. Enhanced earth mapping:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/345/enhance-earth-mapping



96. Increased funding for national parks and forests in 2010, and plans to do it again for FY 2011:

http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/02_01_2010_obamas_budget_includes_key_funding_for_land_and_water.php



97. Changed failing war strategy in Afghanistan:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/01/obama.afghanistan/index.html



98. Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ



99. Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning



100. Created and sustained 2.1 million jobs and stimulated the economy 3.5% [as of December 31, 2009] through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2311303720100223
Read more at simplifythepositive.blogspot.com
 

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Outlook: Voting Buttons

Amplify’d from blogs.office.com
Outlook: Voting Buttons

Voting buttons are a great way to quickly and easily get answers for any question you may have. In the example below I’ll show you how I picked the best day to go see a Seattle Sounders FC soccer game with my coworkers.

Creating a message with voting options

1. Launch a new e-mail window

The first step is to create a new e-mail message and click on the Use Voting Buttons button in the Options tab in the ribbon. Use Voting Buttons drop-down

2. Choose template choices or create your own

While there are 3 default options that work for a variety of questions, using a custom set of voting answers will be more appropriate for choosing a date for a soccer game. Click the Custom… entry item to enter your own.

3. Add your custom choices

In this dialog you need to type your choices into the textbox by separating them with a semicolon (;).

For this example I wanted my coworkers to choose from the 3 available game dates of May 30th, June 13th and June 17th which appear as “May 30th; June 13th; June 17th" in the Message Options dialog.

clip_image004

Then when you are finished click the Close button.

5. Confirm your choices

Congratulations, you have just created voting buttons! To confirm the choices that the recipients will be able to choose from go back to the Options tab and click on the Use Voting Buttons button again to see your custom choices. clip_image006

6. Send your e-mail

Now that you have confirmed your choices, fill in the rest of your e-mail (recipients, subject, body, etc.) and send the message!

7. Check the responses

The responses will show up as new items in your Inbox as the recipients vote – this is very similar to seeing Accept and Decline responses for meeting requests. clip_image008

8. Check the results 

You can look at the running tally of responses by clicking on the blue message bar in any of the response e-mails and choosing View voting responses. clip_image010

 

This will launch a new window where you can see the total number a votes as well as a list of individual responses. clip_image012

We hope that you find using Voting buttons useful and as always, feel free to post a comment and tell us how you use Voting Buttons.

Read more at blogs.office.com
 

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Hippies Rejoice! New VW Bus

Amplify’d from www.msnbc.msn.com


Hippies rejoice! VW unveils new version of microbus

Volkswagen is showing a concept version of the van — known by its German nickname, the Bulli — at the Geneva Auto Show this week. Among the six-seater's modern twists: It's powered by an electric motor and uses an iPad to control the entertainment system, climate control and other functions.

Image:

Volkswagen said the Bulli can go up to 186.4 miles on a single battery charge. That's far, considering that the Nissan Leaf is rated at 73 miles on a charge by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Bulli can go up to 87 miles per hour.

Read more at www.msnbc.msn.com
 

Best Free Disk Space Analyzer

Amplify’d from www.techsupportalert.com

Best Free Disk Space Analyzer

When your hard drive fills up, one way to find out which files are hogging the space is to use a specialist utility that displays your disk space usage visually. There are a number of excellent free contenders that differ mainly in the way the disk space usage is portrayed.



SpaceSnifferSpaceSniffer remains #1 for three simple reasons first, and foremost it's free, and second it seems to be far and away the best free space disk analyzer, and it is standalone, (i.e.no install). Took about a minute to do the whole drive.


Can display, or not, free space, and unknown space. The program reported the space as: Free 160.1 GB, Used 119.0 GB. The "levels of detail" is button selected (8 levels). The "Go home" button takes you back to master display. You can drill down by double clicking on an area. The default colours are: drive (orange), free space (green), folders (skin tone), unknown space (gray), file (blue). All are changeable. Can change contrast, border contrast, and a hi-light halo level (when a file is selected or mouse is hovered). There is an export function that will give you either the file list in the selected directory or stats about that directory.


SpaceSniffer Rating 9 of 10 Gizmo's Top Pick


Pros Treemapping Technology, filters enabled, changeable color configuration. Standalone program with no install
Cons No Scroll Zoom or stats tab
Developer Home Page http://www.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer/index.html
Download link http://www.uderzo.it/main_products/space_sniffer/download.html
File Size 1196 KB Version 1.2.2.0 License Type Unrestricted Freeware Installation Requirements Win98 - Windows7
Info Requires Java runtime engine


WinDirStat

WinDirStat is another outstanding program. Different languages can be installed (Czech, German, Spanish, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Estonian)

It reported 279.5 GB total, 158.2 GB Free. Took about about 20 sec to scan the drive. Shows files types and the size they consume. The lower half of the windows shows a coloured picture of files types (tree map - can be turned off). Click in this area and the file is highlighted above. Each file's relative size is also displayed in the lower window. A click on the file type windows highlights all the locations on the disk in the lower window. Once the amount of space consumed by the file type drops, all other file types a lumped together. Clicking in the file list, say on a directory, highlights the location in the lower window. Options include open explorer at the selected location, cmd prompt at the selected location, delete, and erase, properties, empty the recycle bin. You can zoom in and out of the tree map, select the parent directory, and there is a good help feature that is built in.


WinDirStat Rating 8 of 10


Pros sequoia view and other visual presentation
Cons rectangular treemaps not squarified
Developer Home Page http://windirstat.sourceforge.net/
Download link http://downloads.sourceforge.net/windirstat
File Size 645 KB Version 1.1.2 License Type Unrestricted Freeware Installation Requirements Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista


Folder Size Scan Window


Folder Size from MindGems Software installed fine, then tried to go to the website. Problematic if you're not connected. It took a few minutes or so the scan the drive. Has different units (B, KB, MB, or GB). Displayed drive size as 122.62 GB (131,659,620,315). Tried to download a flash player for the chart display (again problematic if you're not connected). Can scan a folder. Shows size, percent, number of files, number of sub-folders, dates, attribvutes, and owner. Can drill down by double clicking on a folder name. Clearly shows the page.sys file when "home".

View window in lower right summarises all the drive. C reported as 279.45 GB, 121.25 Gb free, and 158.20 Gb used.


Folder Size Rating 8 of 10


Pros Highly versatile with comprehensive reports and pie chart mapping
Cons Please let us know if anything should be included here
Developer Home Page http://www.mindgems.com/products/Folder-Size/Folder-Size.html
Download link http://www.mindgems.com/products/Folder-Size/Folder-Size-Download.htm
File Size

1888 KB Version 1.2.0.0 License Type Unrestricted Freeware Installation Requirements Windows 95/98/ME/NT4/2000/XP/2003/Vista/Windows 7



DiskSpaceFan. This needs needs Microsoft .Net frame work. It also asks if you want to use premium features that search and delete duplicate files, integrate windows explorer, and have the capability to filter an exclude files. These were not tested. The initial scan took about a minute. Shows major directories and pagefile.sys as different colours. You can click on the graph and drill down. Home button takes back to usage screen. It counts files and folders in each directory and you can drill down to individual file to get size. Image files give a thumbnail, which is a nice feature. You can also double click on the list on the left pane to drill down. Help goes online. On the PC that was connected to the internet this utility reported 52.1 GB total, 28.9 GB used, and 23.1 GB free. (explorer reported 52.1 GB total, 28.9 GB used, and 23.1 GB free).

DiskSpaceFan Rating 8 of 10


Pros Lovely visuals
Cons Please let us know if anything should be included here
Developer Home Page http://www.diskspacefan.com/
Download link http://www.diskspacefan.com/download.html
File Size

2.27 MB Version 2.3.0 License Type Unrestricted Freeware Installation Requirements Windows XP/Vista/7

Read more at www.techsupportalert.com