The Adobe AIR platform is giving life to some wonderfully useful applications. One of my recent favorites is the to-do list application Doomi. It’s dead simple, just enter a task and check it off when your done.
The only thing I would add is the option to tie in with online to-do services like Remember the Milk so lists can sync across multiple computers.
I download a lot of big files. Constantly pulling down HD-quality videocasts, Windows service packs, and Linux distributions can freeze even the best of browsers. In the past, I’ve recommended LeechGet, but the limitations of the free version left me wanting more.
Enter Free Download Manager. As the painfully obvious name suggests, it is a free utility for managing and accelerating your downloads. FDM has an excellent feature set to please the most demanding of downloaders. With two versions to choose from, you can find the one that is best for you. The full version includes support for bittorrent, downloading flash videos, file sharing and more. The Lite version includes just the download manager, but you can always add the other features later as they are available as plug-ins. I use the Lite version since I don’t need the bittorrent or video features.
There isn’t anything revolutionary here, but FDM works well and is easy to use. It will monitor your browser, waiting for you to download files and take over from there. You can disable monitoring and just use FDM when desired by choosing the option from the right-click menu in the browser.
It can also help keep your files organized by placing the download in a subfolder based on the detected file type. For example, if it detects you are downloading an EXE file, it will prompt you to place it in a Software subfolder. This can sometimes be hit or miss, but you can always change the selection when initiating the download. As someone whose desktop is always cluttered with downloads, I find the organizational feature is a real plus.
If you’re looking for a great free way to speed up and manage your downloads, give Free Download Manager a try. It’s lightweight, spyware and junkware free, easy to use and it doesn’t cost a dime. Hard to beat that combination.
Get Free Download Manager from their website: http://www.freedownloadmanager.org
I finally got around to installing Joost this past weekend. It’s perfect for when there is nothing on TV, which is a majority of the time these days. I watched a few episodes of Fifth Gear, an automotive program from Europe that I can’t get with my sparse cable setup. Watching a Porsche 911 speed around racetracks is an excellent time waster for me. Read the rest of this entry »
In the past I was happy with Firefox’s basic download capabilities. However, since upgrading to Firefox 2, I’ve had a lot of trouble with downloads freezing and failing to resume. I download a lot of video and audio podcasts so I set out to find a more robust download utility. After some digging I found the capable, lightweight and spyware/adware free LeechGet. It has a simple interface, all the features I need, and is free to use.