Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Can't Live Without It

By Cate Eales
Appeared September 6, 2007 on castanet.net

When I work on clients computers, I bring software tools with me that I consider essential to troubleshoot and resolve problems. Most people don't need that kind of heavy artillery, and this column isn't about troubleshooting. This column is about the utilities I couldn't live without on my own computer because they make things so much easier.


How many of these are in those?
Convert is a free and easy to use unit conversion program that will convert the most popular units of distance, temperature, volume, time, speed, mass, power, density, pressure, energy and many others, including the ability to create custom conversions. I use this little utility just about every day. In fact, I've got it in my Quick Launch bar.

I have friends and family in the States, and often find myself running out of fingers when I talk about the temperature or the price of gas. If you travel south or have people there, you might find Convert useful. Convert is available here and works in all Windows version from Windows 95 through Vista.
 

Grab a screen shot
Gadwin PrintScreen is an easy to use utility that allows you to capture any portion of the screen, save it to a file, copy it to Windows clipboard, print it or e-mail it to a recipient of your choice. You might never, ever, need to do that, but if you do, this is by far the easiest print screen utility I have ever used. The graphic we used for the Convert section of this column was captured by Gadwin PrintScreen.

This is a free program. Gadwin also offers a pay version, called PrintScreen Pro, which has more features. Get the free version here. PrintScreen works on Windows 98 through Vista.

What was my password again?
KeePass is a free/open-source password manager or safe which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key. So you only have to remember one single master password to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted. KeePass runs on Windows 98 through Vista.

I just can't remember all the accounts and passwords I have. There's several email accounts, websites, credit cards, ATM card, airline miles, and some password-protected files on my laptop. KeePass takes care of that for me. And, I can put a copy of the program and the database on a USB stick and take it with me when I travel, so I can access any of my information at any computer and keep it secret, too. You can download it here.
 

Get stuff, store stuff, find stuff
I know I've mentioned EverNote before, but I still like it and I'd still have a hard time getting along without it. EverNote saves, categorizes, and makes it easy to find and retrieve an amazing array of files including text, email, photos, web pages and more. You can assign one or more categories to any note, and you can search for your notes several different ways.

I use the free version of this application every day. I use the web and email clippers with Firefox and Thunderbird, too. Learn more or grab the free version here. Works with Windows 2000 through Vista.
 

Now it's your turn
What programs do you use that you couldn't live without? Send your recommendations to cate@rlis.com and I'll share them in future columns. Thank you to everyone who sent comments, questions, and suggestions. Please keep them coming! And don't forget you can look at any of the past columns at any time by pointing your browser here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.
 

Links
Convert http://joshmadison.com/software/convert/download.php
Gadwin PrintScreen http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/
KeePass http://keepass.info/download.html
EverNote http://www.evernote.com/en/products/evernote/
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=20618
RSS Feed: http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
Cate's list of good, free software http://rlis.com/columns/column75list.htm

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.