software at the TechSpot Blog


Tab Mix Plux extension for Firefox 3 Beta

Published on May 10th, 2008 in blog, software, tips & tricks, thumbs up | No Comments »

If you have moved on to use Firefox 3 Beta 5 (as I recommended) then you know how much speed was left untapped with previous versions of the browser. There are still a quite a few popular extensions that are not compatible however, Tab Mix Plus, being perhaps one of the most general purpose and […]

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Speed up Vista using Firefox 3 Beta

Published on Mar 31st, 2008 in blog, windows, the web, microsoft, software, tips & tricks, apple, thumbs up | No Comments »

If like me, you spend a sizable amount of your computer time on a web browser, you can forget about RAM or processor upgrades, it’s software where the hole was all this time.
First let me tell you that I’m an avid fan of trying new web browsers, or at least new versions of today’s traditional […]

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Vista crashing in the most simple of tasks

Published on Mar 20th, 2008 in blog, windows, microsoft, software, thumbs down | 8 Comments »

So let me rant for a bit. After defending Windows Vista, not because I like Microsoft but because based on my experiences I have had relatively few problems with the OS, last night I saw it giving me a deja vu of the early Win95 days!
A solid install of Vista now running SP1 was put […]

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POPFile, the best free spam filter bar none

Published on Feb 11th, 2008 in blog, software, tips & tricks, thumbs up | 3 Comments »

While I find Gmail’s spam filter pretty adequate, for people with POP email accounts, or even worse, POP accounts that have to be visible on the web (like my techspot.com address), fighting spam can become quite the nightmare. Even with some server-side software setup, spammers can learn the software’s filtering behavior and bypass it easily. […]

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How to run Windows Live Messenger on Windows XP x64 and Server 2003

Published on Feb 4th, 2008 in blog, windows, software, tips & tricks, thumbs down | 14 Comments »

Sorry, Windows Live programs cannot be installed on Windows Server, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, or Windows operating systems earlier than Windows XP Service Pack 2.
Being a new user of Windows XP x64 that message puts me off quite a bit, apparently Microsoft wants you to install the old and ugly MSN Messenger instead of […]

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Removing ATI’s Catalyst Control Center from the Windows context menu

Published on Jan 31st, 2008 in blog, windows, software, tips & tricks | 1 Comment »

One of the worst things about bloated software is the addition of shortcuts and context menus that are better suited as opt-in features rather than self-imposed annoyances. So, call me a purist, but when I recently switched from a GeForce videocard to one of the newer Radeon HD boards, I hated to see a new […]

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Burn .ISO files in Windows XP and Vista with ease

Published on Jan 15th, 2008 in windows, software, tips & tricks, thumbs up | 1 Comment »

There are a number of programs that can help you burning ISO files in Windows, unfortunately a majority of them are time-limited trials that later on you are forced to either uninstall and look for a new alternative, or just pay for the full version. If you’ve ever been faced with this dilemma or just […]

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Drivers and Windows Vista

Published on Jan 3rd, 2008 in windows, software, gaming, hardware, thumbs down | 2 Comments »

Mostly when people post something about Vista it’s either bashing it or praising it, however those two camps generally agree on one thing; that drivers have matured quite well since its release.
I’m gonna create a third group now; they are both wrong!
UAC, admin accounts, memory requirements and all other stuff aside, I’ve concluded one thing: […]

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Adobe bloated software, and how to disable automatic updates

Published on Dec 20th, 2007 in blog, interesting links, software, tips & tricks, thumbs down | 1 Comment »

Personally, I hate the trend of software adding bloat in subsequent versions as much as I hate people saying an application is bloated just because it’s no longer a simple one-dimensional kind of program. That said, Adobe current crop of products have to be some of the worst in this sense.
At this point I’m sure […]

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New MacBook Pro owner, joining the dark side?

Published on Dec 14th, 2007 in blog, techspot, windows, the web, software, hardware, apple | 3 Comments »

Depending for how long you’ve been reading TechSpot you may have read a variety of comments about Apple products, from hate to well, less hate :). No, but seriously, despite of being mainly a Windows site we have tried to remain balanced and objective when time has come to report on any product, no matter […]

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