Every once in a while, a piece of software comes along that establishes a new watermark on how things should be done and what others will soon be copying. You are about to read about one such program. Seaching for images on the web is pretty clunky and time consuming. But once you install Cooliris, a browser add-on, your image searches will become magical. Read the rest of this entry »

Many utilities have come through our labs, each claiming to clean and optimize the PC, fix registry problems and a host of other claims. But none provide the satisfying results of CCleaner, a freeware utility that removes unwanted temp files, detects and fixes registry problems, removes unwanted cookies and similar Internet tracing files, and helps remove software that may difficult to remove using the Control Panels Add/Remove applet. CCleaner even gives you full control over what kinds cleaning activity you want performed. Read the rest of this entry »

Capturing screenshots under Windows is fairly easy. Hit the PrintScreen button to capture your entire desktop or Alt-PrintScreen to capture the currently selected Window to the clipboard, and then Ctrl V to paste the captured image while using your favorite image editing program.

But if you’ve ever needed to capture screenshots or video from a 3D application (like a game), nothing Windows offers can reliably do the trick. Taksi is perhaps the best open-source tool to meet all your screen and video capture needs. And it does so using any CODEC installed on your computer. Read the rest of this entry »

Normally, PC Rebellion only reviews software that’s suitable for the average computer user. But here is a topic worth keeping tabs on. It’s a very ambitious project that just may allow you keep your favorite Windows apps around as you make the switch to Linux. The open source project is called WINE, which stands for Wine Is Not an Emulator.

When installed on a Linux computer, WINE acts as a program loader that provides a Windows-close-enough environment to allow a program developed for the Windows OS to operate correctly under Linux. WINE can run hundreds of Windows apps, including dozens of high end games, but usually with a bit of coaxing. This is one of those topics for the Linux savvy crowd. So read on at your own risk. Read the rest of this entry »

This is perhaps the coolest computing solution of the year! Imagine carrying all your favorite applications with you wherever you go.  Now imagine when you use the application, it remembers your personal settings, bookmarks, or even passwords. What comes to mind to most people is that this can only be accomplished with a laptop or some kind of remote desktop solution.

But what if everything you needed existed on a single USB flash drive? PortableApps allows you to “carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind.” Read the rest of this entry »