Posts Tagged ‘windows’
nVidia 182.06 WHQL Drivers Released
nVidia released their latest set of drivers, 182.06, which come packed with improvements in many games and full OpenGL 3.0 support. These drivers work with GeForce 6, 7, 8, 9, and 200-series cards. Here’s what comes with the download:
- Recommended for the best experience in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
- Boosts performance in several 3D applications. The following are examples of improvements measured with Release 182.06 WHQL drivers vs. Release 181.22 WHQL drivers (results will vary depending on your GPU, system configuration, and game settings):
- Up to 8% performance increase in Fallout 3 at high resolution and AA.
- Up to 10% performance increase in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
- Up to 9% performance increase in Half-Life 2 at high resolution with AA.
- Up to 11% performance increase in Left 4 Dead at high resolution with AA.
- Up to 10% performance increase in Race Driver: GRID at high resolution and AA
- Includes full support for OpenGL 3.0 on GeForce 8-series, 9-series, and 200-series GPUs.
- Automatically installs the new PhysX System Software version 9.09.0203.
Download : nVidia ForceWare 182.06 for Windows XP 32-bit
Download : nVidia ForceWare 182.06 for Windows XP 64-bit
ProcessQuickLink Is the Perfect Addition to the Task Manager
Process Library has long been a popular website to check on what processes are doing on your computer. The creators of Process Library have made it easier than ever to figure out which processes are doing. ProcessQuickLink adds a button next to each process in Windows Task Manager that, once clicked, take you to the process’ profile page on Process Library. Here is a feature list taken from ProcessLibrary.com:
You can download ProcessQuickLink from The Pxl Lab, and there is a mirror from the offical site also.
Windows XP To Be Continued Until 2010
Microsoft just announced that Windows XP can continue to be shipped on low-cost PC’s until 2010. They said earlier in the year that they would discontinue XP in June 2008, but because of all the protests against it, they decided to change their decision. Companies have been pressuring Microsoft to do this too because Vista, a power-hungry OS, while XP runs great on low-end PC’s that are becoming more popular among the non-gaming crowd. When asked about more powerful machines, Microsoft said that even though they are keeping XP on the market for low-end PC’s, they won’t have exact specifications on the computers XP can be used on. One of the PC’s that MS is keeping XP around for is the Eee PC, which is a cheap ($300 or less) laptop that is built for internet browsing and video viewing, coming with a max hard drive of 250 GB and 802.11n Wi-Fi for browsing around the internet.
Giveaway of the Day Gives You Free Stuff
Giveaway of the Day is a site devoted to putting free software into hands of people both young and old. The software, which ranges from $9.00 to $50.00 or higher, is completely free and available for download over a 24 period. After that period is up, the program is no longer available for download. Also, after the period is up, you aren’t allowed to install it, so you must activate the program in the 24 time slot. The reason it is unable to install is that they have a 24 hour key associated with the file. They do this to ensure that no one shares the files, and only those that have directly downloaded the software can install it. They also might not allow the free software to receive updates, which is certainly a dilemma. The reason that companies put their shareware software on GotD is for public exposure, hoping to have downloaders tell friends about their product.
The software that Giveaway of the Day provides is varied every day. Some days there may be a game, various converters, 3d screensavers, or even photo organizer applications. Every day there is something different. The programs are usually not mainstream, and will not be recognized immediately. No Photoshop or Microsoft Word 2007 will be found at Giveaway of the Day, but it certainly does offer amazing programs for absolutely no cost at all! Make sure to check them out.
Firefox Looking to Set World Record
For those of you that are completely in the dark, Firefox is a Mozilla-made web browser that is completely customizable. Firefox is used by 15% of all internet users around the world. That may not seem like many people comparatively to the 78% of people that use Internet Explorer, but considering that IE is the default browser on all Microsoft PC’s, Firefox is a very popular choice. Firefox has been around for years, and now, they are finally releasing Firefox 3, which has better virus and malware protection. It features easier password management, full page zoom via keyboard shortcuts, and also scrollable tabs! There are many new updates, and they all bring exciting news to die-hard Firefox fans.
With all of that being said, Spread Firefox is trying to set a world record. If you have noticed the affiliate on the right side of the blog, you would have seen (and hopefully clicked on) it. Sometime during June Firefox 3 will be released, and it is their intent that within 24 hours of the release time, it will reach the most downloaded software in history. All you have to do is download Firefox 3 on that day in June, and you will contribute to the record. Mozilla is making this easy for you to remember by sending you an email on the day of release.
Mozilla has worked very hard on Firefox, and their many other sophisticated projects like Thunderbird. The least you could do would be to contribute a few minutes of your time downloading this fantastic web browser.
ATI Catalyst 8.5 WHQL Drivers Released
ATI released their new Catalyst drivers, bringing in new features like 1080p HDTV support, Windows XP Service Pack 3 support, and improved HDMI Audio, among other things. Take a look over the changelog if you want to see all the specifics that the 8.5 drivers bring. The drivers are fully compatible with Windows XP and Windows Vista 32 and 64 bit, and a reboot is required (what program doesn’t require a reboot?) after installation. So if you’re an ATI user on a Windows machine, download the update and get new features and bug fixes to make your computer a better machine.
Woopra Brings You Super-Cool Site Stats For Free
Have you ever wanted a stats system for your website that collected a ton of data and presented all of it in a beautiful desktop client? Woopra is your answer to that. It has live tracking and web stats, displaying your viewers in real-time and even letting you start a chat with them if you fancy. Woopra displays all your data on a desktop app that they are planning to be skinnable by all the graphic artists out there. Now, because Woopra tracks and displays live data, allowing admins to respond to sudden spikes in traffic. Woopra also lets you track multiple blogs/websites on one account, making it easy for larger companies with lots of websites to track everything easily. Another cool feature is the search bar, letting you search through things like geographical views, IP addresses, and visitor incoming links. You can also see custom notifications for things like traffic spikes, certain users visiting, or ad clicks.
To get Woopra working for you, just sign up for Woopra, install the appropriate plugin for your site (Wordpress, vBulletin, or general Javascript), and lastly download the client (see below).
FreeSnap Improves your Open Windows
I just finished reading an article over at Lifehacker about FreeSnap, a program that gives you more power over your windows. Some of the great things that FreeSnap manages to do are:
- Hotkey control
- very low memory usage (about 4 mb’s)
- You can size your windows fully horizontal or vertically, or center the window
- Easy custom window resizing, useful for web developers who need to see websites at different screen resolutions
I like that FreeSnap can make the window a certain size because I mess around with website creation a bit. This software is Windows only, sorry Linux guys, but a Linux version may one day be coming your way.
Flash Player 10.0 Beta Shows Off New Features
Adobe recently released the newest beta of Flash Player, code-named “Astro,” the program we all know and love for giving us sites like Vimeo and Kongregate. The new version brings some very cool new features for developers and users alike. Developers can use effects like anti-aliasing and rotation on text, and custom filter support. Users will see a boost to video viewing because the video is now played with the user’s video card, leaving the CPU free to do other things. Adobe has graciously made a new flash application that takes advantage of Flash’s new features, dubbed The Pixel Bender. I bet your excited to get the new beta, eh? Windows users, take advantage of the large download button below, Mac and Linux users can get the beta here.
DExposE2 Does For Windows What Expose Does For Macs
DExposE2 for Windows is a great app, even it it’s just a copycat. Actually, I’m not giving it enough credit, this things copies and then improves on the original. For those of you who don’t know what Mac’s Expose does, its pretty simple: Press a key and all of the windows open make themselves smaller so that you can see all of them at once, then click on a window you want to use. There is also another key you can press to hide all of the windows open on the side of the screen, giving you instant desktop access. DExposE2 adds these functions to Windows (XP and Vista), giving it multi-monitor support, mouse-over hot corners, and closing windows.