Windows keeps record of most activities users performs on their computer including which files were opened, which directories viewed, which documents accessed, what commands were ran, what was searched and so on. Browsers keep history of websites visited, cookies saved, and files download. All these records are kept at different places, and often there is no clear way to view them. History Viewer is a handy tool that lets you easily view the history of all that has been done on your computer on a single interface.

Early this month we had organized a giveaway for business cards sponsored by Next Day Flyers. The winners of this giveaway are entitled to receive a set of 250 business cards printed in their name and shipped to any destination within the U.S. free of charge. We picked three names from among those who participated, and they are:

Microsoft Outlook provides desktop alerts for new emails but there is no way to filter these notifications such as to highlight important emails or suppress less important ones. It’s either all or none. Important Mail Alert for Microsoft Outlook solves this problem by bringing rule based alerts to the email program. Using this free add-in you can configure Microsoft Outlook to immediately notify you when you receive emails that contain specific keywords or phrases or mails from persons you actually care about.

Adobe released a free beta version of Lightroom 4 or Photoshop Lightroom 4, as it is officially known, early this month. This is the first beta of the image management software which is eventually going to replace the current Lightroom version 3, maybe later this year. Lightroom 4.0 drops support for Windows XP, but introduces several new features including a completely new book-creation module, expanded support for video, soft proofing capability, and geo-tagging of still and video images via a Google Maps-powered module. Image editing tools have also been significantly updated, with a new process version that includes a reworking of the Basic panel controls and new localized editing options.

Security software publisher Comodo recently released their first anti-virus application for Android, Comodo Mobile Security, that provides real-time protection from viruses, unsafe applications, spam messages and more. Comodo Mobile Security offers more than malware protection - in addition to core antivirus protection, Comodo Mobile Security includes SMS and Call Blocking, Software and Process Manager, and Private Space with Apps locking.

Mozilla is planning to add a reset feature to Firefox that will enable users to repair their Firefox install or revert to a default state, while also retaining bookmarks, history and other data. The proposed feature will allow users to solve problems such as startup crashes and corrupted user profile without resorting to drastic measures like complete reinstall.

A selection of articles published between January 15 and January 21 of previous years.

1 Year Ago

• Attack Surface Analyzer: A free security application from Microsoft for developers and users alike, designed to catalog changes introduced to the Windows platform after installation of new software.

CyanogenMod developer Koushik Dutta revealed, through a Google+ post, the possibility of an Android app store that will house apps banned from the official Android Market for various reasons. These will include custom ROMs, classic gaming emulators pulled due to copyright complaints, unofficial tethering apps, Voicemail apps, one-click rooting apps and other apps.

Sometime around last year, with the release of Firefox 4, Mozilla completely revamped the add-on manager windows of the browser. The current add-on manager features bigger fonts and thicker add-on details panel with generous amount of padding thrown all around (just like the new Google). Also, other utilities like themes, plug-ins, userscripts etc. are grouped along with add-ons but separated by tabs. Overall, a nice change and functionally better than the old add-on manager but uses too much vertical space. Here are some add-ons that fixes the various flaws in the new add-on manager.

Chinese computer peripherals manufacturer Genius has developed a new wireless mouse that doesn’t use traditional batteries. Instead, it uses a gold capacitor to hold charge. Rather than deriving power from chemical reaction as in standard batteries, the DX-ECO mouse draws power from a gold capacitor. The capacitor holds enough charge to last for 24 hours, but replenishes the lost charge in only three minutes. All you need to do is plug in the mouse in the morning for three minutes and you are good to go for a full day. Being battery-less means that it’s also environmentally friendly.