August 10th, 2008 by Greg Steward
Ever get suspicious about what is running on your computer? A process viewer will answer that question. Pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete (don’t do this on Windows ME and earlier) will bring up the task manager built into Windows, but there are many third party alternatives that provide more functionality and information.
I have been using “What’s Running,” a piece of freeware recommended at Gizmo’s Tech Support Alert. There you can read more about “What’s Running” and another suggested process viewer. Several times, as my computer slowed to a crawl, I was able to start-up “What’s Running” and there I could see what was consuming all the CPU time. Of course, if your computer is running slow, you might want to stretch your legs as you wait for the program to start running.
August 9th, 2008 by Greg Steward
Looking for some software but don’t have any money in the budget? Take a look at Gizmo’s Tech Support Alert where you will find two or three recommendations for each of over a hundred types of freeware and/or open source software.
There are a lot of great freeware products out there. Many are as good as or better than their commercial alternatives. But with so many great free products, how can you quickly find what you want?
That’s what we do at this site: in each program class we select the “best of the best” for you.
The name would indicate that it started out as a problem-solving site. It has grown from a one-man operation to a community of people who report on various types of software. The home page is titled “The Best-Ever Freeware Utilities,” but the list of categories goes from simple single-use utilities to full-featured applications such as Open Office (a worthy rival to Microsoft Office).
As always, use the typical precautions when downloading software. That said, I have never found a virus in any software that they have recommended.