CC wrote me last week to tell me about this program. I had to try it out and it worked just as advertised. I can remember lots of times when I could have used backups like these. The only drawback is that you have to register your email address at the author's website. They apparently send out an occasional newsletter about their software. They also promise not to ever share your email with any third parties. I'd say that's a pretty good trade.
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DriverMax is a new program which allows you to easily reinstall all your Windows drivers. No more searching for rare drivers on discs or on the web or inserting one installation CD after the other. Simply export all your current drivers (or just the ones that work ok) to a folder or a compressed file. After reinstalling Windows you will have everything in one place!
Note: DriverMax only works on Windows Vista and Windows XP (all service packs).
XMPlay is a fast, lite, music jukebox program that plays many music and streaming audio formats. There are skins available, and it also supports some WinAmp plugins. XMPlay may not do everything but it keeps getting better and it's very good at what it does. Thanks to Nob for reminding me about XMPlay.
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XMPlay is an audio player, supporting the OGG / MP3 / MP2 / MP1 / WMA / WAV / CDA / MO3 / IT / XM / S3M / MTM / MOD / UMX audio formats, and PLS / M3U / ASX / WAX playlists. A load more formats are also supported via plugins. When XMPlay was first released in 1998, only the XM format was supported, hence the name "XMPlay".
This program seems to work. I tried it out on an installed program I have. It was a program I wasn't planning on keeping, so I wasn't worried about losing it or messing it up. Moveit gave me an error message and said it couldn't move my files for me but I just skipped the error message and continued. Moveit scans all the registry looking for references to the program you want to move. It changes the registry entries so that you can run the program from the hard drive you've chosen. It took a long time for it to scan the registry. When Moveit was done I just copied the program I wanted to move to the area on the other hard drive where I wanted it to run. It's not trouble free but it did work.
Update Mar 2006
I've had reports from others who haven't had much luck with Moveit.
Letter from Ross in Italy:
On Xp I tried to move (using Movit) OpenOffice v. 1.1.3 but it failed, I lost the application ! :-) Coa2 seems better, I moved Office 2003, Winmx, Pop Peeper, TugZip and other and it seems to work better
Coa2 is no longer freeware so I can't recommend it. There are copies available online, but they aren't legal copies from PC Magazine.
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Having a lot of programs on your hard drive is a usual thing today, but someday such users certainly will face such problem as moving registered program from one place to another. It is a problem, because almost every program stores some data into registry (such as used file paths, for example), and you can't just move program folder from where it is to another location, because in 90% cases application will not run correctly anymore. So was before. Today MoveIT! will help you to solve this problem
Derby Paul recently submitted this brief review of a new free web service that enables you to share and display access to your PC with others across the internet. Yugma also provides premium (paid) services with more features and options. I'd categorize it as LiteWare, not FreeWare.
Later, Bob Constans had this brief comment about the same service:
Yugma - Sweet interface, eh? Very slick. Impressed me so much when I ran across it that I immediately signed up...and put it in my Links!
WHAT KIND OF PROGRAM IS IT? It's a KILLER app for FREE Web Collaboration. FREE and VERY EASY TO USE Web Conferencing, Desktop Sharing, Whiteboarding, free telephone conferencing, private and public chat, annotation tools.
WHAT VERSIONS OF WINDOWS ARE REQUIRED? Windows 2000, XP, Vista. Also Mac OS 10.3 or later. Linux coming soon.
DOES IT REQUIRE ANYTHING ELSE? (LIKE .NET) No. Just Java.
IS IT A LARGE OR SMALL DOWNLOAD? Small. 3.4MB
IS IT AN EASY PROGRAM TO INSTALL? Very easy to install!
DOES IT COME WITH AN UNINSTALLER? Yes.
WHERE DID YOU FIND IT? Lifehacker.com
WERE YOU LOOKING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS? Yes. This is a perfect fit.
WHAT ARE YOU USING IT FOR? Project Meetings.
WHAT WERE YOU USING BEFORE YOU FOUND THIS? gotomeeting.com.
HAS IT SOLVED A PROBLEM YOU WERE HAVING? Yes.
WHAT PROBLEMS HAS IT CAUSED? None. It's very secure and reliable.
IS THE PROGRAM EASY TO USE? Extremely!
DOES IT COME WITH HELP FILES? Yes.
WHAT FEATURES DO YOU LIKE OR NOT LIKE? Very EASY and FREE forever.
WHAT FEATURES WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE ADDED OR TAKEN AWAY OR CHANGED? Integration with AOL AIM.
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Yugma is a free web conferencing service that enables people to instantly connect over the internet and to collaborate using any application or software, using both Windows and Mac. Businesses can connect on-demand and real-time with clients, prospects or employees whether they are across the city, nation or even the globe.
Letter Swapper is a great program to help you keep those spelling muscles toned up. It's a stand-alone or portable program so you can take it with you on a thumb drive. It doesn't seem to work well in Win9x systems.
Most of my friends, family and co-workers seem to enjoy word and spelling programs more than others. I believe that may say something good about those that I associate with.
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Letter Swapper is a perfect mix of word and puzzle games challenging your erudition and combinatorics skills. Your goal is to clear the board from letters by combining them into words.
On each level you need to use increasing number of letters to proceed to the next level.
Here is a great theme for sci-fi fans anywhere. Take a look at my screenshot for a glimpse. This theme is hosted at themeworld.com, a great place for clean free themes.
If you need a good theme manager for your older PC's, be sure to check out DesktopArchitect.
Here's a deceptively easy little game called Reactions to Distractions that will make you think and act quickly, while keeping you on your toes. This interactive game will challenge your reactions to all kinds of distractions on the road, and find out just how good you really are at multi-tasking while behind the wheel. The game will test your reactions to varying distractions while driving, and see how well you handle various situations while under stress. It's really quite interesting as well as an eye opener. Many of us believe we can drive perfectly fine while talking on the phone and/or doing other things at the same time. This unique game/test proves otherwise and makes you aware of just how dangerous multi-tasking behavior can be; especially when performed in conjunction with driving a vehicle. It's truly a valuable lesson for everyone who is guilty of "multi-tasking" behind the wheel. Try it now, and see how you score!
Best wishes for a happy weekend to you and your family,
I am doing a DVD of photos for my Grand Daughter. I have 28 years of photos that I am putting on the disk and I want to overlay some music that my Daughter liked before passing on last year. Do you know of some Freeware or Cheap Shareware that will allow me to add the music? The photos are no problem. Just need a way to overlay the music. My Grand Daughter will always be able to look back at some thing like this. I will just keep updating the media as the technology changes for as long as I am around.
Gary
From Clif:
Hi Gary,
I recommend using Windows Movie Maker to add photos and music to make a movie. However, I'll ask my readers how they would do it. They often know more than I do.
Windows Movie Maker comes on every installation of Windows XP (as far as I know).
Thanks to everyone who commented on the articles last week. You gave me more ideas and some good advice. If you see comments on an article, you will be missing out if you don't click on them to take a look.
If you commented last week, check to see who commented on your comment!
David at DavesComputerTips wrote me to tell me about a project that he and Carol (Carol's Corner Office) have just unveiled. Many of you are probably familiar with Carol's MS Office tips which have been displayed at InfoPackets and DavesComputerTips newsletters.
Carol has a new website.
Now many of Carol's tips are included at her new website.
If you use any MS Office products at home or at work, you really should sign up for the free newsletter.
Quote from Carol:
This site is meant for those who wish to learn more about Microsoft Office. My main focus is on Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, Power Point, and Publisher. And so I'm here to help you out. There is almost always a way to accomplish what you're seeking and I am the woman to see when you need to make that happen.
Last month, I was in California for my son's marriage. My wife and I had a great time there and we really hated to leave. The real problems came when we arrived at the airport and found that most flights to the east had been cancelled because of a snow storm. We ended up taking a flight to Phoenix that day hoping we could catch a flight from there to Ohio. The flight to Pheonix was a quick and uneventful trip and after a little calling around we were able to arrange for a room at a local hotel.
After settling in at the hotel, my wife reminded me that Tom Mercado lived in Phoenix. She wasted no time and jumped on the internet and left him a message on Yahoo Messenger. The next morning Tom called us and we met in the hotel lobby before we went to the airport. Tom and I had a nice visit. He's as generous and friendly in person as he is online.
We finally got back to Ohio after a whirlwind tour of 3 more airports, but I'll always remember our visit with Tom. Be sure to drop by Tom's website if you ever need help removing spyware or adware infections. He and his friends at temerc.com will find the time to help you through the removal process.
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In these forums you will find lots of good useful information and tips, not to mention you can post your questions and one of our members will be able to specifically address your issue.
You need a free 2.8 GB Gmail account to access many of the cool features at Google. After more than two years in beta testing Gmail is open to the public. Just go to http://gmail.com and sign up for an account.
I think Gmail works best in the awesome Firefox browser. It's free, easy to use, and it's way more secure than Internet Explorer. My favorite thing to do is to customize Firefox so that it does much more than IE ever could. You can select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.
Wow! Over 400 people and still growing! I invite all of you to record your locations on this map. You can include as little or as much information as you wish. I think you'll enjoy seeing yourself there.
Here's a small look at my frapper map.
Write your own review
I get many of the reviews in the newsletter from the readers. You don't have to be a genius or computer guru. Just answer a few questions and send me a review. I'll probably put you in the newsletter.
What do you have to say?
Just tell me what article you are talking about and leave me your comment.
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Here's a deceptively easy little game called 
Quote from Carol:
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