OpenOffice.org 3.1.1 (Windows, Open Source, 136.32MB) [alt DL] is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. Also available for Linux. Changes: Fix encoding of URIs of external references and chart data range loss. Java update single fix for possible data loss with graphics in impress/draw And some bugfixes. Thanks to this great software suite, I no longer have to spend big bucks for a new office productivity software license whenever I build a new Windows or Linux machine. IceRocket Tags: openoffice, office, suite, word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, database, windows open source

Nero Free 9.4.12.3 (Windows, Freeware, 54.5MB) [alt DL] is the easy-to-use yet powerful multimedia suite, gives you the freedom to create, rip, copy, burn, edit, share, and upload online. Changes: "Continue multisession" projects are displayed in the correct size. Volume is correct when using the "Save Tracks" option (MP3 only). IceRocket Tags: nero 9, free, windows freeware

ImgBurn 2.4.4.0 (Windows, Freeware, 1.95MB) [alt DL] is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit. Changes: Added: A 'Note' to the box that pops up at the start of a burn when the LB in the settings doesn't match the one in the DVD/MDS file - basically it tells you to put the setting back on 'Calculate Optimal'. Added: Support for one more Lite-On device identifier ('ATAPI iHES') - used when automatically changing the book type etc. Added: Ability to select the size of the format when multiple options are available. 'Preferred' uses the 'Number Of Blocks' value from the first descriptor in the list for a given format type, 'Minimum' and 'Maximum' should be pretty obvious! Added: New log entries showing the status of options (enabled/disabled etc) that have an effect on what happens during an erase operation. Added: The user can now choose if they want to perform full certification or not (the opposite being 'Quick Certification' !) when full erasing BD-RE via the New option 'Prefer Format With Full Certification'. Previously the program always requested full certification - i.e. where the drive tests all the sectors and maps out any bad ones. Added: Detailed 'Write Speed' descriptor information to the bottom of the disc information text. Added: Option to never delete audio files when deleting files (having been told to!) after a burn/verify. This makes it safer for people burning audio discs via the 'Create CD CUE File' feature. Added: The ability to create *.DVD files (a plain text and basic alternative to .MDS files) via the same basic interface used to create the *.MDS ones. Added: 'Content Type' field to the image details box that pops up when you use build mode. ('DVD Video', 'BD Video', 'Data' etc) Added: 'Shut Down' shutdown action that calls the 'ExitWindowsEx' API with the 'EWX_SHUTDOWN' flag. This might work to shut down and turn off the PC for some users where 'EWX_POWEROFF' fails to do so. Added: More debug code to the exclusive access locking / unlocking functions. Added: Options to control build mode prompts for including ADV_OBJ and CERTIFICATE folders when they're present but not in the source list. Added: Ability to ignore the reported file system on remote drives - so the program doesn't then force the 4GB file splitting limit on anything (possibly incorrectly) reported to be using FAT/FAT32. Added: Options to do with (not) prompting for confirmation of HVDVD_TS / BDMV content in Build mode. Added: Options to do with (not) prompting for confirmation of correcting DVD Video / HD DVD Video / BD Video / DivX Video / OS Install Disc settings in Build mode. Added: The option to have Read and Build modes write out an MD5 file when they're done (assuming ImgBurn has been told to calculate the MD5 values in the first place). Added: The program now remembers if the Log windows was minimised / maximised when it was closed and restores it accordingly when opened again. Added: The Main and Log windows now snap to the centre of the screen vertically too, rather than just horizontally. Added/Changed: The program will once again (by default) update the GUI with any proposed setting changes it detects are required when you're building a disc. A new option 'Proposed Setting Changes - Update GUI' can be used to toggle this on/off. Added/Changed: The program will now examine the write speed descriptors to find a match with whatever the user selected (i.e. '8x') and use the values from it (if one is found) when setting the write speed. And lots of enhancements and fixes. IceRocket Tags: imgburn cd dvd bluray burn, windows freeware

CookTimer 0.9.1 (Windows, Open Source, 679KB) is a simple cross-platform countdown timer that helps when cooking, making tea or eggs. It also works for any other timing purpose such as working out. it was developed using wxWidgets and was tested on Windows and Linux. IceRocket: cooktimer, windows open source

StickIt 3.0.6 (Windows, Freeware, 1.4MB) [alt DL] is a Windows desktop sticky note application. Create notes and place them anywhere on your desktop. Changes: ADDED: CTRL+Enter can now be pressed at the StickIt Note Editor window to create/send a note FIXED: "&" now properly displayed when used in note text FIXED: StickIt tray icon was not reloading after Windows Explorer crashed IceRocket: stickit desktop sticky note, windows freeware

Ced’s PC has updated its site feed. Please update your feed readers with the new feed URI: http://feedproxy.google.com/CedsPc Thanks, and happy reading! Technorati: ced's pc site rss feed

Ced’s PC has updated its site feed. Please update your feed readers with the new feed URI: http://feedproxy.google.com/CedsPc Thanks, and happy reading! Technorati: ced's pc site rss feed

Ced’s Files has updated its site feed. Please update your feed readers to the new feed URI: http://feedproxy.google.com/CedsFiles2 Thanks, and happy reading! IceRocket: ced's files site rss feed

Ced’s Files has updated its site feed. Please update your feed readers to the new feed URI: http://feedproxy.google.com/CedsFiles2 Thanks, and happy reading! IceRocket: ced's files site rss feed

BurnAware Free 2.1.7 (Windows, Freeware, 7.7MB) [alt DL] allows you to easily perform the most common disc burning tasks: write to all CD/DVD media types, including Blue-Ray; write Audio CDs and DVD-Video files; create and burn disc images; write multi-session discs and much more. Changes: Re-designed buttons of Welcome Screen Simultaneous writing tools moved in additional tab of Welcome Screen Fixed minor bugs with Unicode systems IceRocket: burnaware free, optical disc burn, windows freeware

ChrisTV Lite 5.25 (Windows, Freeware, 2.7MB) [alt DL] brings TV on your PC with high quality image and sound. The software is designed to control analog TV Cards, Graphic Cards with Video Input (VIVO),Webcams, TV Cards with MPEG hardware encoder: Hauppauge PVR series, Leadtek PVR2000, ATI Ehome wonder and works with many video capture devices. Changes: Improved the Timeshift engine for some capture devices Improved the Broadcast feature for TV cards without MPEG hardware encoder Minor optimization in the scheduler module Fixed video rendering problems for some TV cards Other small fixes and improvements IceRocket: christv lite, tv card software, windows, freeware

X-bit Labs tested 16 different thermal compounds, and compared their efficiency on an overclocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (3.0GHz, 1.25V, 2x6MB L2 cache, 4x333MHz FSB, Yorkfield, C0) processor, and a HIS Radeon HD 4870 GDDR5 512MB / 256bit, @830 (300) / 3600MHz graphics card.

      Thermal Compounds tested:



        Arctic Silver 5

Pro-Thermal 81 IC Diamond 7 Carat AiT Cool Silver Arctic Alumina OCZ Ultra 5+ Silver (OCZU5STP)

        OCZ Freeze Extreme (OCZTFRZTC)

Zalman ZM-STG1 ZEROtherm ZT-100 Noctua NT-H1 Tuniq TX-2 Arctic Cooling MX-2

        Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad


        Coollaboratory Liquid Pro

Gelid GC1 SilMORE (usually bundled with some Scythe, Thermaltake, Xigmatek, Ice Hammer, OCZ CPU coolers)

"As for the winners, I can certainly single out liquid metal from Coollaboratory and Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad with a few remarks regarding its proper use that should be taken into account. The new OCZ Freeze Extreme performed extremely well as a highly efficient, relatively inexpensive and very easy to work with. The good old Arctic Silver 5 still holds on to its leading position successfully, although now it has at least eight worthy competitors to worry about. Overall, it is very pleasing to see that there are more than 2-3 worthy thermal interfaces around. And of course, do not forget that thermal interface is simply a substance to fill into the micro-pores between the cooler base and the processor heat-spreader. You have to make sure that both these surfaces are very even, because no "millimeter" layer of thermal compound usually applied by newbies and several "experienced" testers out there will guarantee efficient cooling and objective cooler comparison." [X-bit Labs | Thermal Interfaces Roundup]

X-bit labs suggests that we stay away from the bundled SilMORE thermal compound, and try to avoid AiT Cool Silver, Pro-Thermal 81, and Zalman ZM-STG1.

IceRocket : arctic silver, coolaboratory liquid, grease, ocz freeze, thermal compound

X-bit Labs tested 16 different thermal compounds, and compared their efficiency on an overclocked Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (3.0GHz, 1.25V, 2x6MB L2 cache, 4x333MHz FSB, Yorkfield, C0) processor, and a HIS Radeon HD 4870 GDDR5 512MB / 256bit, @830 (300) / 3600MHz graphics card.

      Thermal Compounds tested:



        Arctic Silver 5

Pro-Thermal 81 IC Diamond 7 Carat AiT Cool Silver Arctic Alumina OCZ Ultra 5+ Silver (OCZU5STP)

        OCZ Freeze Extreme (OCZTFRZTC)

Zalman ZM-STG1 ZEROtherm ZT-100 Noctua NT-H1 Tuniq TX-2 Arctic Cooling MX-2

        Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad


        Coollaboratory Liquid Pro

Gelid GC1 SilMORE (usually bundled with some Scythe, Thermaltake, Xigmatek, Ice Hammer, OCZ CPU coolers)

"As for the winners, I can certainly single out liquid metal from Coollaboratory and Coollaboratory Liquid MetalPad with a few remarks regarding its proper use that should be taken into account. The new OCZ Freeze Extreme performed extremely well as a highly efficient, relatively inexpensive and very easy to work with. The good old Arctic Silver 5 still holds on to its leading position successfully, although now it has at least eight worthy competitors to worry about. Overall, it is very pleasing to see that there are more than 2-3 worthy thermal interfaces around. And of course, do not forget that thermal interface is simply a substance to fill into the micro-pores between the cooler base and the processor heat-spreader. You have to make sure that both these surfaces are very even, because no "millimeter" layer of thermal compound usually applied by newbies and several "experienced" testers out there will guarantee efficient cooling and objective cooler comparison." [X-bit Labs | Thermal Interfaces Roundup]

X-bit labs suggests that we stay away from the bundled SilMORE thermal compound, and try to avoid AiT Cool Silver, Pro-Thermal 81, and Zalman ZM-STG1.

IceRocket : arctic silver, coolaboratory liquid, grease, ocz freeze, thermal compound

Cast your mind back to sunnier summer days spent by the beach and fond memories of Proporta’s Beachbuoy may spring to mind. Proporta are adamant that it’s not time to put your Beachbuoy to the back of the cupboard just yet as with the British weather being as, ahem, wonderfully rainy as it is, the Beachbuoy could quite possibly be very useful no matter which season it is.

The Beachbuoy is guaranteed to be waterproof up to 5 metres/16 feet and has been tested and approved by the British Standards Institute - BSI (IP57 and IP58). Whether you are shielding your brand new MP3 player from the rain or protecting your PDA from the snow the Beachbuoy continues to be a very useful piece of kit. If you are lucky enough to be spending the winter months sunning yourself by the sea the Beachbuoy will also guard your valuables from water, sand and sticky fingers. The Beachbuoy measures in at 13.5 x 8.5 x 3.5cm (LxWxD) and is ideal for holidays spent in the snow, sun or simply for use at home during the more wet and cold months of the year. (Thanks to Hannah Saffman for the news.) IceRocket: proporta, beachbuoy, waterproof case Tags: accessories general

Cast your mind back to sunnier summer days spent by the beach and fond memories of Proporta’s Beachbuoy may spring to mind. Proporta are adamant that it’s not time to put your Beachbuoy to the back of the cupboard just yet as with the British weather being as, ahem, wonderfully rainy as it is, the Beachbuoy could quite possibly be very useful no matter which season it is.

The Beachbuoy is guaranteed to be waterproof up to 5 metres/16 feet and has been tested and approved by the British Standards Institute - BSI (IP57 and IP58). Whether you are shielding your brand new MP3 player from the rain or protecting your PDA from the snow the Beachbuoy continues to be a very useful piece of kit. If you are lucky enough to be spending the winter months sunning yourself by the sea the Beachbuoy will also guard your valuables from water, sand and sticky fingers. The Beachbuoy measures in at 13.5 x 8.5 x 3.5cm (LxWxD) and is ideal for holidays spent in the snow, sun or simply for use at home during the more wet and cold months of the year. (Thanks to Hannah Saffman for the news.) IceRocket: proporta, beachbuoy, waterproof case Tags: accessories general

EssentialPIM Free 2.8 (Windows, Freeware, 2.9MB) [alt DL] handles all your scheduling, contacts, to do lists, and notes with easy-to-use, intuitive tools. This absolutely free personal information manager can store, manage and encrypt data: day/week/month/year schedules, to do lists for keeping all your tasks up-to-date, notes (pictures, tables, any formatted text), and contacts. Offers Rijndael 128-bit encryption, MS Outlook import/export, Windows Address Book import/export, search capabilities, versatile print features, and adjustable contacts storage with unlimited fields. Personally, I use the PIM that came with my Palm PDA. If I didn’t have that, I’d surely use EssentialPIM Free. IceRocket: essentialpim, pim, schedule, contact, to do, note, windows, freeware

OpenOffice.org 3.0.0 Final (Windows, Open Source, 128MB) [alt DL] is the open source project through which Sun Microsystems is releasing the technology for the popular StarOffice productivity suite. It is an international office suite that will run on all major platforms and provide access to all functionality and data through open-component based APIs and an XML-based file format. It establishes the necessary facilities to make this open source technology available to the developer community. Also available for Linux. IceRocket: openoffice, 3, final, office, suite, open source, windows