Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Unleashed

Sams Publishing 2008, 1244 pages

Microsoft® Visual Studio 2008 Unleashed is an end-to-end, deep dive into the Visual Studio development environment. It’s meant to provide you guidance on how you can squeeze the ultimate productivity out of the many features built into the .NET development tools. Understanding how to use your tools will make you a better developer. This book was written with that premise as its focus.

The authors have folded in real-world development experience alongside detailed information about the IDE. The result is practical, easy-to-employ information that will make you a more productive and complete developer. This book also helps to ease your transition from other development environments and former versions of Visual Studio.

Finally, this book provides an entire section dedicated to Visual Studio Team System. It will help you understand how the Team Architect, Team Developer, Team Database Developer, and Team Tester work with the Team Foundation Server to increase team collaboration, visibility, and productivity.

Microsoft® Visual Studio 2008 Unleashed provides straight, to-the-point answers to common developer questions about the IDE.

EssentialPIM - free personal information manager

www.essentialpim.com
EssentialPIM Free is an absolutely free personal information manager that 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 number of fields.

Features

EssentialPIM Free is a full-featured personal information manager, which offers:

• Excellent usability. Shortcuts that are fun to use and boost your productivity. Easy, intuitive tools arranged right where you need them
• Security. All data can be password-protected and the database file is encrypted with the advanced industry standard AES (Rijndael), 128-bit key
• Versatile import and export capabilities. You can import and export HTML, RTF, CSV, TXT and TreePad. You can perform import/export with Microsoft® Outlook; and you can import from Outlook Express
• Available in many languages: Bulgarian, Chinese (simplified), Czech, English, French, German, Hellenic, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish, etc.
• System tray icon with a hotkey for starting and configuring the software
• Open-source Firebird database. Advanced users and system administrators get great flexibility in managing databases

Graphics & Photo: Draw, design and edit images (For Free) Part 1

Go top end on graphics software and you can easily spend £1,000's, so it's good to see that capable freebie programs even exist. As the majority of photo's are now digital, there are some great free photo editing programs emerging too, both to download or simply use online.

A full suite of graphics programs: Serif.

Serif offers a whole suite of design programs for free; PhotoPlus (Image Manipulation),PagePlus (Publishing), WebPlus (Web Design), DrawPlus (Drawing) and 3DPlus (3DAnimation). This is classic shareware; the company hopes that after using these freeversions of its applications, you'll spend £10 on the full versions, which have extra features.

Pro-style graphic design: Paint.net.

Originally conceived as a University project, Paint.net is about as close as you can get to Adobe's pro software without spending. It's not as feature-packed, yet still includes pro-design staples such as layering, and a plethora of nice looking effects. What's more, it's easy to use too; its original mission statement was that it should be instantly familiar to users of MS Paint.

Vector graphics: Inkscape.

Inkscape is a free program similar in operation to Adobe Illustrator or Corel Xara. It's for building 'scalable vector graphics', which unlike any other type of graphic, remain perfectly sharp no matter how much you zoom in or out, making them ideal for serious design work. Thanks to superscaper for suggesting this in the forum discussion.

Where to Find Other Software

This list is just the tip of the iceberg; there are plenty of sites out there with vast databases of free programs. Yet always be careful what you add to your computer, and regularly check the Add/Remove Programs section of Control Panel for things you've downloaded yet never use. Get rid of those you have no need for to keep your PC in shape.

If you're looking for free anti-virus software, read the full article on How To Protect Your PC For Free. Also if you're a newbie and have questions visit this site's Techie Board, where regulars are keen to help (though remember there are no guarantees they're right).

As for browsing free software sites, there are a few big ones, which have programs on virtually anything under the sun. Be careful to check the veracity of other download sites before using them; after all, it's through downloading that the most vicious malware will get onto your machine.

Osalt.

Osalt is a software database with a difference, as it only lists open source equivalents to commercial programs. You just tell it which commercial program you want, and it'll list the free programs that are most similar to it.

Sourceforge.

Sourceforge is another open source software database, this time in regular search-to-find style.

FileHippo.

A user friendly and well organised site, FileHippo catalogues browsers, firewalls, audio tools and DVD tools. It also promises no pop-ups when you visit the site.

Snapfiles.

More slick than FileHippo SnapFiles has the added bonus of user reviews and feedback, though it can be hard to find what you're looking for.

Download.

One of the biggest databases, Download.com includes everything from digital photo tools to developer tools. Also has a Mac section.

Tucows.

Like Snapfiles, Tucows includes its own and users' ratings and also has sections for Linux and Mac users.

For Mac users.

As well as some of the sites above, it's worth stopping by Sof tpedia's Mac arm, VersionTracker for OSX, and Apple's own software repository.

Online office suites...

There are also a few online office suites worth checking out. With these, there's no installation to worry about, you can store your work online, and their primary function is you can share it with others you're collaborating with via the web. The flipside though, is you must be online for them to work. Here's the best:

ThinkFree.

Almost 100% compatible with Office, ThinkFree is a free online suite which bears a striking resemblance to the latter, and has received glowing reviews all round. It includes the equivalents of Word, Excel & Powerpoint, looks pretty, and most importantly for an online suite, is responsive and simple to navigate. It also holds a trump card in the way it hides your web browser window when in use, so you can use regular keyboard shortcuts to control it without upsetting your browser. Neat.

Zoho Office Suite.

This basic-but-superfast package is fine for simple tasks, but if you're going to need advanced features it's best to look elsewhere. Whilst it offers a wider range of applications than ThinkFree, they aren't as detailed. Zoho stores all your documents in its 1GB free storage space, and allows you to share them with (member) friends via email invitation.

Google Docs.

This service has more of an emphasis on collaboration than the other two. The idea here is you can select a few people to work with you on the same document, and they can all see it and make changes in real-time. I've included it since it now includes plenty of useful document, spreadsheet, and presentation templates which you can use to get going.

It's also the most web-oriented, since if you publish one of your Google Docs, you can use all manner of Google's whizzy analytics tools to track its progress too.

Presentations Only: Preezo.

Preezo is a dedicated online presentation application, quite similar in use to Microsoft's PowerPoint. It's ideal if you need to put together a presentation quickly and have no software installed on your machine.

Free Tools that makes your computer faster Part 3

Over-web Printing: PrinterShare.

If, like me, your printer ran out sometime last year and you've not yet got around to buying more totally overpriced ink cartriges for it, PrinterShare is the perfect thing. It allows you to print things out on your more-organised friends' printers, by sending them over the web.

Sounds complicated, but once installed and auto-configured the long distance print option will appear in your regular print window. Don't do it too often though; you'll get a reputation... Available for Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux.

File Conversion online: YouConvertIt/Zamzar.

These are nifty, user-friendly sites which can convert over 100 types of media file formats between each other. So, if you've a CV document from Word, and you'd like to make it a PDF instead, you simply put in your email address, upload the file to convert, and choose '.PDF' in the drop-down box below.

Both YouConvertIt and Zamzar work the same way; they'll do the hard work, and then email you a link to download the new file. One thing though, since these services both store your files online before conversion, it's not advisable to use them to convert sensitive documents.

Free Tools that makes your computer faster Part 2

Speed up your hard drive: Defraggler.

From Piriform, the same stable as CCleaner, Defraggler is a 'defragmenting' tool. Fragments are made when your computer splits up files because there's not enough space in the place they were originally saved. It has a significant effect on performance, since when re-opening these files, your PC has to find two (or more) pieces instead of one. Defragmenters join the pieces together again, thus speeding up the computer. Windows has its own Disk Defragmenter, which can be found in the System Tools menu,but it takes ages, as it'll only go through your entire hard disk at once. Defraggler can be used to do the job on a smaller scale; you just choose files and it'll process them in a few seconds.

Close frozen programs: Task Killer (Up to XP only).

You probably know that pressing Ctrl, Alt & Delete brings up the Windows Task Manager,which is good for closing unresponsive programs down (if you know what to look for thatis), but TaskKiller makes it easier, and its 'SmartKill' mode is safer than the Windows Task Manager's. It adds an icon to your taskbar, which, when clicked brings up a list of active programs. Just click the frozen one and it'll disappear it for you.Find out what's going on in your machine: Coolmon 2.

If you've a nerdy drive to know exactly what's going on inside your computer, Coolmon 2 is an editable system diagnostics tool that can give you the stats (and graphs! ) on RAM usage, motherboard temperature, page file usage and the rest. What's more, dozens of free plug-ins make it do other stuff (like controlling your media player) too. Installation can be a touch confusing though, so read SimpleHelp's overview to see if it's for you first.

Test for memory errors: Memtest 86+.

Tests how well your RAM is working, to help determine whether any computer problems you may be having are hardware-based. Memtest86+ could potentially save you a wedge of cash, as buying and fitting some new RAM sticks is a lot cheaper than paying for a tech support person to do it.

Free Tools that makes your computer faster Part 1

The longer you use any computer for, the slower it'll get, since operating systems leave a trail of hard-drive clogging mess behind. Thankfully, there are a handful of free applications that'll clean up, and others to solve otherwise painfully mundane problems with printing, converting files and the like.

Dump junk data: CCleaner.

This superfast program cleans up unused files in around a second, getting rid of all the crap (that's what the first 'c' stands for - honest) as it goes. CCleaner doesn't run all the time; just have it give your machine a quick spruce up every week to keep it ship shape.

Free fax machine. Faxtastic.

Thanks to clever little tool Faxtastic, it's possible to turn your PC into a fax machine. You get your own special number which people can fax you on and faxes are then converted into email format.

There are a couple of things to watch out for though; you're given an 0870/1 number which costs people faxing you 8-10p/minute during the day (it's cheaper evenings and weekends). Normally I rail against these numbers (see the Say No To 0870 article) yet as this provides a service, it works well. Still, do let people faxing you know how much it will cost, as effectively they are subsidising your free fax machine.

To keep the service active you must receive at least one fax in the first seven days of opening an account, and at least one every 90 days thereafter, else you'll lose the allocated fax number and will have to re-register.

Online office suites...

There are also a few online office suites worth checking out. With these, there's no installation to worry about, you can store your work online, and their primary function is you can share it with others you're collaborating with via the web. The flipside though, is you must be online for them to work. Here's the best:

ThinkFree.

Almost 100% compatible with Office, ThinkFree is a free online suite which bears a striking resemblance to the latter, and has received glowing reviews all round. It includes the equivalents of Word, Excel & Powerpoint, looks pretty, and most importantly for an online suite, is responsive and simple to navigate. It also holds a trump card in the way it hides your web browser window when in use, so you can use regular keyboard shortcuts to control it without upsetting your browser. Neat.

Zoho Office Suite.

This basic-but-superfast package is fine for simple tasks, but if you're going to need advanced features it's best to look elsewhere. Whilst it offers a wider range of applications than ThinkFree, they aren't as detailed. Zoho stores all your documents in its 1GB free storage space, and allows you to share them with (member) friends via email invitation.

Google Docs.

This service has more of an emphasis on collaboration than the other two. The idea here is you can select a few people to work with you on the same document, and they can all see it and make changes in real-time. I've included it since it now includes plenty of useful document, spreadsheet, and presentation templates which you can use to get going.

It's also the most web-oriented, since if you publish one of your Google Docs, you can use all manner of Google's whizzy analytics tools to track its progress too.

Presentations Only: Preezo.

Preezo is a dedicated online presentation application, quite similar in use to Microsoft's PowerPoint. It's ideal if you need to put together a presentation quickly and have no software installed on your machine.

 

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An Alternative of Microsoft Office for free Part2.

OxygenOffice Professional is based on OpenOffice's source code, but adds a wealth of templates, clipart and photos. In fact, over 3400 graphics are included, and you also get 90 new fonts and a more detailed help guide. For some people, these extra features will seem like unnecessary bloat, but if you'll use them, it's well worth considering.

Be aware though that unless you have a decent broadband connection it's a big file (215 MB) and could take a long time to download.

An Alternative of Microsoft Office for free Part1.

OpenOffice: Word Processor, Spreadsheets & Presentations

This is an open source project which includes five separate programs, and is compatible with many Microsoft documents. The programs included are...:

· Writer: A wordprocessor, its equivalent of Microsoft Word

· Calc: A spreadsheet, its equivalent of Microsoft Excel

· Impress: Presentation software, its equivalent of Microsoft Powerpoint

· Base: A database, its equivalent of Microsoft Access

· Draw: A design program, especially useful for flowcharts etc.

Combined, they make for a powerful, if not particularly pretty suite of programs. Version 2.4.1 is the best option for most, as it's the fully tested one.

Open Office Version 3 is currently in its fourth beta version, and it includes support for Microsofts 2007 'docx' standard, which is currently difficult to edit unless you have the Microsoft Office package. Yet as the software isn't on full release just yet, it may still be a touch buggy. Also available for Mac OSX.

How can software be free?

Free software falls into two categories; promotional freebies, and software developed to help people fight back against the power of the big software providers.

Free software as a commercial giveaway

Many commercial publishers offer free versions of their software, hoping it'll become the industry standard in its category. After all, having a product sitting on millions of PCs is a fantastic marketing tool. Then they try to persuade you to upgrade to 'advanced' or 'corporate' versions.

Open source software, Freeware, and Shareware

The other side of free software comes from the thousands of developers, both amateur and professional, who contribute to developing free applications so as not to be tied to big software houses, especially Microsoft.

This software falls into two categories:

Open source software

As well as being free, here the code used to write the program (effectively the program itself) is available too, so anybody that wants to can work on improving it. This has pros and cons. The bonus is it's constantly being honed and updated, and the problem's that support is often limited as there are no big bucks backing it up.

The open source model has come a long way since it began, and the growing popularity of Linux-based operating systems and programs like Mozilla Firefox suggests it'll only continue to grow.

Freeware and Shareware

As the name suggests, freeware costs nothing, though some developers request a donation if you like it. The difference is that here you can't access the source code, so development is centralized in one location. Shareware is similar, except here the software's only free for a limited period, after which you have to either pay to register it, or lose some of the functionality (or have an annoying reminder message pop up every time you use it).

Generally there's less shareware and freeware available as more software goes open source, which is a good thing for people that are easily irritated by 'nag screens' (ie. Just about everyone I've ever met).