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Sunday, August 19, 2012

I Love Free Software

I Love Free Software


Free Time Tracking and Project Management Tool: eHour

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 03:30 PM PDT


eHour is a free web based time tracking and project management script which companies and individuals in charge of projects can use to keep better track of their employees, and to better manage the time that they spend on a certain job. These days a lot of the time employees are not doing their best, or not doing their work at all, with eHour everyone gets an assignment, with clearly laid out tasks, and if someone isn’t completing their work, it’s easy to find and deal with those who are slacking and only wasting the companies time.

eHour default window

There are two versions of eHour available for download. A standalone installer for Windows, Linux and Mac for which if you want to use it online you’re gonna have to have a web server suite installed on your computer, and another .WAK installer which should be used on Tomcat servers. For local use simply install eHour like you would install any other application and restart your computer so that all the necessary eHour services are started. Once you do all that and once visit the following link:

http://localhost:8000/

you should be greeted with a login window, if everything was installed properly and without errors. Default username and password for the admin account is:

username: admin
password: admin

When you login there should be a configuration window waiting for you, where you can change some minor but important settings, like localization, mail server setup, if you have one running, reports logo selection and so on. Once you’re done with all that, it’s time to actually start managing users and assigning them with tasks and projects.

Time Tracking of tasks and projects with eHour

You can start by adding your employees to the list of eHour users, click on Manage and then on Users and then fill out all the information about the user, when you’re done click on Save:

eHour adding user

Don’t give admin privileges to regular users by mistake, if it’s someone who you can’t trust, they might mess up everything, remove users, delete tasks and schedules you name it. Next thing on our agenda would be actually adding the project that needs to be managed and completed:

eHour adding projects

Projects can be added by clicking on the Manage tab and then on Projects. To each project you can assign project managers and customers, give a description about what’s expected to be achieved with this particular project, select the start and end date, and once all of that is completed hit Save. Project will then be added and it will be available for monitoring on the list of active projects to the left

Conclusion

eHour allows you to assign work to your employees, each one can be assigned with projects and they can have their own customers. Leave them to do their work, go on through your everyday schedule, come back later and see how they are progressing. Companies can install eHour on a central server and the entire local network, all the employees can access the application, to get their assignments. eHour is a free script, download it and try it yourself, for free.

Related posts:

  1. Tempo: Free Online Time Tracking, Time Management Tool
  2. D-jon: Free Project Time Tracking Software
  3. qdPM: Web Based Project Management Tool

Free Time Tracking and Project Management Tool: eHour was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Task Manager and Music Manager: Maymeal TimeTask

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT


MayMeal TimeTask is a free task manager that can organize and plan your schedule so that you do not forget any bit of your appointments.

Ever imagined automating your tasks to perform them efficiently and effortlessly? Now you can automate most of your system tasks with the aid of Maymeal TimeTask. With this software, you can schedule all your tasks so that you do not miss out on anything important. In addition, you can also manage your music files with TimeTask. Let's check how you can perform so many functions with this all-in-one software.

Scheduling tasks with TimeTask Task Manager:

time1

The snapshot above is the main screen of this free task manager. Scheduling tasks and creating entries is simple and can be done in a jiffy. The left panel consists of all the information which needs to be completed so that you can create an entry. Here we are going to create a task, the steps are simple:

  • You need to choose the kind of task as listed below the 'Task name' category. TimeTask offers you lots of categories.

time2

Whether you need to open a file or shut down your system at the particular time, all you need to do is select the particular category from the list. Whatever task you choose, the corresponding options appear at the bottom that ask you to specify the action required. For instance if you choose 'Open file', you would have to specify the document. If you set a 'Reminder', the options that are available are shown in the image below:

time3

We chose 'Run program' while trying the task manager. Similarly, whatever category you choose, the corresponding actions appear at the bottom.

  • Set the 'Start time' and 'end time' (if required).
  • You can also specify the time depending on how often the task has to be performed.

time4

  • Finally, specify the action to be performed depending on the task category. The actions are as follows:
  1. Specifying the  document, website or a program in case you choose to open any of these.
  2. Displaying window if you choose to shut down, log off, stand by or restart your system.
  3. Display window or play sound along with the content if it's a reminder.
  4. Set the music duration if you choose to play music.

After you hit 'Create', the particular task is created.

time5

Organize music with TimeTask task manager

Click on the 'Music' tab on the top and you can organize your music by adding files to different music categories in TimeTask. TimeTask offers different categories and the files can be organized in different levels.

time6

You can even play the music since it comes with an in-built music player! all the information including the title of the track, artist and length is displayed on the screen.

Verdict

TimeTask is an innovative software and is available in a compact size of 4.42MB considering the number of features it offers. Simple and easy to use, this software is definitely worth a try. This is recommended for those who love to keep their work organized and complete it on time. So customize your tasks and perform them without any trouble.

Download Maymeal TimeTask for free.

Related posts:

  1. Task Unifier: Free Task Manager
  2. Windows Task Manager: Comindware Task Management
  3. Free Open Source ToDo Manager: Task Coach

Free Task Manager and Music Manager: Maymeal TimeTask was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Macro Recording Software: Macro Toolworks

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 12:30 PM PDT


Macro Toolworks is an amazing utility that allows you to create macros, for repetitive tasks that you’re performing on your Windows system. For those who do not know what macros are, it’s when you make a recording of a certain task and then later on just use the program in order to repeat that task when you need it again. A great thing for when you have to do the same mouse motion, keyboard action or anything else where repetition is present and required.

Macro Toolworks default window

Macro commands are probably familiar to everyone who uses some sort of office suite, like Microsoft Office. What Macro Toolworks does is basically the same thing, only with it you expand the area where the commands can be recorded to the entire desktop, and not only desktop, but also in third party programs that you’re using. If you need macros in a program that doesn’t offer them, you can have them with Macro Toolworks.

How to record a macro with Macro Toolworks?

Recording a macro command with the help of Macro Toolworks is very easy, just click on the Record New Macro button which is located in the top right corner. Once you do that, you will get a window where you are given some basic advice on how to record a macro more successfully.

Macro Toolworks advice

It’s best that you read this because it contains some important pointers about what’s good practice for recording a macro. During the time that we’ve been testing this program, there were situations when a command wasn’t exactly recorded as it should have been. For example it’s very problematic for the program to record when you open up the Start Menu and run a program from there, but it works rather well when a program is started from the desktop icon. The advice which you’re given boils down to that you should use the keyboard more, and that you try to keep the recording within one window if possible. Click on Record Now! and the program will minimize to tray, and every action you do until you click on Stop on the Macro Toolbox help window at right bottom of the screen will be recorded.

Macro Toolworks recording

Stopping the macro recording will prompt the save window, click yes and then it will appear on the list of macro commands:

Macro Toolworks Macro recorded

Name it somehow so that you know which action is hidden behind this particular macro, and if you want to start it, click on the Run Macro icon at the top of the list. If everything went in order the command will work just fine, if not, you’ll have to repeat the recording and try one of the things which were suggested before.

You can also check out Actions another free software to create macros.

Limitations of the free version and conclusion

We didn’t mention that there are also paid versions of Macro Toolworks, which of course have some cool features, for example:

  • AES protection of the macro command, in case of sensitive data is being saved
  • Macro export to HTML
  • Macro command transportation via Free Macro Player
  • Macro trigger, which will cause a certain macro to start after an event of some sort

and many many more. There’s too many options even in the free version of Macro Toolworks to mention them here, if you’re looking for a macro recording software then Macro Toolworks is the thing for you.

Related posts:

  1. ScreenCastle – Free Online Screen Recording Software
  2. KahlownLite: Free Screen Recording Software
  3. Megamind Recorder: Free Audio Recording Software

Free Macro Recording Software: Macro Toolworks was originally published at I Love Free Software

Screen Color Picker To Pick Colors From Screen

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT


Screen Color Picker is a free color picker software to pick colors from screen. This free Color picker let's you pick 4 colors and add them to this free color picker software.

The interface of this software is straight-forward and displays the RGB values, HSB values, GML code, and HEX code for the color that you have picked. In addition you can copy these values with a single click on the copy buttons available on the left side of each value.

Screen Color Picker

Screen Color Picker is an easy to use color picker software which offers an easy way to pick colors. For picking a color, you need to simply move and place the mouse cursor on the desired portion of the screen.

The current color window on the interface displays the color on which your mouse cursor is being placed. If you are satisfied with the color, then simply press the Enter key on your keyboard and click the Add button on the interface. In this way, you can pick four of your desired colors from the screen. You may also use other color picker software like Peacock color picker, Color Seizer and Absolute color picker.

Screen Color Picker proves to be a useful tool for all the web designers and web masters who engage themselves in web designing and other such kind of stuff.

Key Features Of This Color Picker:

  • Shows the RGB values, HSB values, GML code and HEX code.
  • Pick and add 4 colors in a go.
  • Set Color option to select your preferred color from the colors window.
  • Copy the values with a single click.
  • User-friendly and very basic interface.

Screen Color Picker is a very basic software that let's you pick or retrieve colors from any part of the computer screen effortlessly. Download Screen Color Picker for free.

Related posts:

  1. Pick Any Color From Screen Using Quick HTML Color Picker
  2. Free Color Picker to Pick Color from Any Part of Screen
  3. Absolute Color Picker: Convert Colors into Hexadecimal representation

Screen Color Picker To Pick Colors From Screen was originally published at I Love Free Software

Play Contra Online Free

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 09:30 AM PDT


Contra is a popular Action and Shooting packed game. I used to play this game a lot in my earlier years. Today I found a nice online version of Contra, which lets you play Contra online for free. Nothing to download or install; just go to the website (link at the end), and start reliving those old memories.

This Online Contra looks exactly the same with little modifications. However, it is much harder than the version I am used to, and took me lot of practice to be able to just cross the first level. I actually found Contra for Android much better than this one.

 contra

This online game doesn’t support two players, so only one player can play the game. After four slides of story, the controls of the game will be displayed and you can even play a trial game by clicking on TEST or else you can directly play the game by pushing the PLAY button.

This online Contra also lets you choose number of life’s you want in the play. This option comes just above the “Play” button. You can add any number in this you want. However, the game supports a maximum of 30 lifes only.

contra_play

When you play Contra online, you will notice that the Graphics and Game levels are same like old CONTRA. The background music and sound effects are different and nice. There's a time limit also for the game but it runs very slow, so reach the end and destroy the enemies. You can run on the land or swim in the water while shooting your enemies. The main aim is to destroy the enemies and collect new GUNS to shoot effectively.

contra_gameplay

The game is little difficult to play even with 30 life's but its worth trying. The loading may take some time. Good part is that controls are easy to handle.

Those who are missing their old TV Video Games or who like to play tough online games can definitely try this game. Some other popular games that you can try online include Angry Birds online, and Cut The Rope online.

To play Contra online free, Click Here.

(P.S.: The online version shows a download link as well. I did try that, but it didn’t work for me, and seemed to have some bloatware included with that. So, don’t be tempted to download that.)

No related posts.

Play Contra Online Free was originally published at I Love Free Software

5 Free USB protection Software To Protect PC From Infected USB Drive

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT


Here, are 5 free USB protection software to protect your computer from infected USB drive. Infected USB drive harms your PC in various ways. With the help of these free USB protection software, you can prevent malware and other harmful elements from causing any kind of harm to your computer.

So in order to prevent your system from infected USB drive, you can have any of these USB protection software on your computer. Of course, most of the antivirus software also provide this type of protection, but I would rather relax knowing that I have a dedicated software to take care of this.

MCShield 2

MCShield is a free USB protection software that helps you to protect your computer from infected USB drive. This smart software basically provides the protection against the malware programs which gets transmitted through removable devices. The user-interface of this software is well organized and makes it possible even for the beginners to easily operate it. The good part about this free security software is that, it comes with an automatic mode to automatically check the connected device for any kind of threats. So it automatically does everything and keeps your drive secured without any manual intervention. MCShield acts like a protection shield for your computer and keeps you computer safe from malware and other harmful elements that can come from infected Flash drives.

Read more about MCShield 2 or try it here.

Bitdefender USB Immunizer

USB Immunizer

Bitdefender USB Immunizer is another free USB protection software that gives a protection or immunity against infected Flash drives. This free security software offers a two way protection, as it protects your computer from infected USB devices and also protects your removable devices from being infected. This free security software provides protection against AutoRun files which automatically execute themselves as soon as you plug-in a flash drive into your computer. As I mentioned above, you can also use this software to protect your flash dives, it offers protection in such a way that AutoRun files cannot be created on the flash drives. And you should always keep in mind that this security software only provides protection against the infection though AutoRun files.

Read more about Bitdefender USB Immunizer or try it here. Don’t forget to check out some best free USB encryption software.

Panda USB Vaccine

Panda USB Vaccine is another free security software which basically allows you to protect your computer from infected USB drives. Apart from providing you protection against infected Flash drives, it also protects you against infected CD/DVD that can cause harm to your system. This USB protection software basically blocks the AutoRun files, in order to prevent those malware programs which automatically run themselves. Like the above included Bitdefender USB Immunizer, this one also comes with a two way protection. Panda USB Vaccine supports multiple languages and comes with quick and easy installation wizard. Download Panda USB Vaccine for free.

Read more about Panda USB Vaccine or try it here.

USB Guardian

USB Guardian is another free software which aims to protect your computer from infected Flash drives. This free security software repeatedly scans your system for any removable USB device. It basically scans and detects all the harmful AutoRun files on a USB drive, it separates these AutoRun files and blocks them from accessing your computer. This free software sits in your system tray and works from your system tray itself. This free security software comes with a main window which shows potentially harmful files and this software even offers you with few configuration options to configure this smart tool according to your preference. Download USB Guardian for free and give extra protection to your computer right now.

Read more about USB Guardian or try it here.

Ninja Pendisk

Ninja Pendisk is another free USB protection software which provides a protection to your computer against infected USB drives. This free security software is easy to use and finishes off it's job within a few couple of seconds. This free security software guards your system against malicious files like autorun.inf, ctfmon.exe, etc. Ninja pendisk does not require any kind of installation, as you simply need to download it and launch it. It basically resides on your system tray and does it's job from your system tray itself. In addition, this free security software has got a capability to immunize your flash drive and generate a folder named as autorun.inf along with special protection to protect your pen drive from again getting infected.

Read more about Ninja Pendisk or try it here.

Related posts:

  1. Protect Computer From Infected Flash Drives: Ninja Pendisk
  2. USB Guardian To Protect Computer Against Infected USB Drives
  3. Encrypt and Password Protect USB Drive: USB Flash Security

5 Free USB protection Software To Protect PC From Infected USB Drive was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Parental Control Application: Junior Watch

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 06:30 AM PDT


Junior Watch is a free parental control application which you can install on your kids computer and then use it to monitor and limit their internet activity. With parents having to work long hours, a lot of kids today are left unattended in front of the computer, which can be very dangerous, because the internet is full of harmful content and dangerous people.

JuniorWatch default window

What you see on the image above is the default screen of the Junior Watch online account, which you have to register in order to be able to install and use the application on your kids computer. Installation doesn’t take long and it’s very simple, Junior Watch desktop application is also very lightweight which makes it perfect for older computers which don’t have impressive hardware. Next to the free version of Junior Watch there are also paid upgrades which allow more devices and better tracking features. With the free version you get the following:

  • Ability to track 1 device – desktop, laptop or Android smartphone
  • Activity reports – keylogging, screenshots, camera capturing, file viewing
  • Up to 5 reports can be saved at the same time
  • Geo-location tracking based on IP or Wi-Fi networks
  • Website blocking – block adult websites
  • Longer report interval and lower quality images and videos are made

With the paid account, all of the above mentioned features are improved, so you can for example track more devices, have better quality screen grabs, shorter recording intervals are offered, and more logs can be saved. Depending on where your kids spend most of their time you can install the Junior Watch application on either their computer or their smartphone, there’s an Android app which you can install if you decide to go with the smartphone.

Similar software: PcWarder, Free Facebook blocker, Verity Parental Control.

How to monitor children with Junior Watch parental control application

First step is registering on the Junior Watch website, after which you need to download the Junior Watch client for either Windows or Android, depending on what kind of device you want to keep track of. When you’re installing the application it’s gonna ask you for the username and password that you created during registration, so that device can be connected to your online account, from where various different settings can be made:

JuniorWatch device settings

To change the device settings, you’re gonna have to click on My Devices and then on Device Settings, while you’re logged into the online account. There you can turn on the Family Shield options, which blocks adult websites, activate camera desktop captures, keylogging, basically everything that we mentioned before. When you’re done, click on Save.

JuniorWatch device overview

After saving you’ll be returned to the device overview window where you’ll be able to actually view screenshots, key logs, locations and everything else that you’ve decided to track.

Conclusion

With Junior Watch you’ll be able to easily and effectively track what your kids are doing online, but not only that, you’ll also be able to limit their activity by blocking adult website and other websites dangerous for children, like phishing websites and scams. Online control panel gives you complete overview over what your children are doing on their computer, in a few simple clicks. For users that aren’t very demanding Junior Watch is free, register and see if it can help you.

Related posts:

  1. Blackberry Master Control Program: Free Windows Application to control Blackberry
  2. 5 Best Free Parental Control Software
  3. Free Parental Control and Internet Monitoring Software: Qustodio

Free Parental Control Application: Junior Watch was originally published at I Love Free Software

Free Photo Editing Software: Image Resize Guide

Posted: 18 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT


Image Resize Guide (IRG) is a free photo editing software which can be used to resize images, shrink pictures and remove objects from a picture without detectable traces. All these features are well complimented by several others functions that make photo editing efficient and quick.

Installing this free photo editing software

Although this free photo editing software is effective and big, it can be downloaded simply from the link. The downloaded is an executable (.exe) file which only needs to be run in order to install the file on your system. Following the instructions as they appear in the installation wizard leads to successful installation of the program. The moment installation gets completed you can launch the software and use it as you like. You can also try Vimager, Easy Photo Effects and ZoomFX reviewed by us.

Interface and Features of Image Resize Guide

Image Resize comes with several high end features where some of them which needs to be mentioned are as follows:

  • Smart Resize which is used for context-sensitive editing of a picture and its aspect-ratio allows removal of unwanted objects without affecting the key aspects of the picture.
  • Smart Remove helps in removing any unwanted object without apparently visible traces.
  • Smart Patch can be used to replace a portion of an image with another relevant portion.
  • Text allows you to insert text anywhere in the picture and rotate or flip it too.
  • Other than these specific tools, there are features such as zoom-in or out, best fit and actual size, all of which help in adjusting the view of the picture.
  • Brightness and contrast can also be duly adjusted. Conventional features of opening a new file, viewing previous or next file, saving, printing, redoing and undoing are present at the regular top-right of the window.

Using this free photo editing software

This free image editor is a complete photo editor software for general purpose. However with advanced features it might take you sometime to learn about making the best use of it. You can open any picture on IRG to work on it. Once the required image opened, it can be resized through 'resize' tool where you will be requested to fill the width and height for the image. The symmetry of the height and width can be maintained by checking the 'lock aspect ratio' box.

The next option under tools allows cropping any portion of the image with three different 'side ratios' to choose from. When the required portion of the image is selected, press enter or click on the unselected region.

To insert text in the picture, click on 'T' button which will open a text box for you to type the desired text. Once you have completed all the formatting, place the pointer on the picture and drag to select the region of the picture where text is to be displayed. Of the two radio buttons under 'color', inverted allows to invert the text laterally or vertically. You have to check the radio button and press any of the four corners of the text box and move it to the other side, laterally, vertically or both.

It efficiently removes objects from an image which is very effective when you wish to remove objects from a particular image. For sudden realization that the removal should not proceed beyond certain point, the process can be pre-emptively stopped with the stop button beside start. In the much similar way, larger images can be re-sized without affecting important objects in it. Only this time, the software secures the selected objects instead of deleting.

The last tool is for patching certain portions of an image with certain other portions. It requires only to select the portion where change needs to be brought and clicked at the place with which the selected area has to be replaced. People who may find anything beyond their knowledge can refer to the demonstration option available at the top. Every tool has been illustratively demonstrated under this option. Besides, this free image editor has detailed 'help' section where everything has been explained in simple words.

In short, not only Image Resize Guide is complete for general photo editing purpose, it does not require any outside tutorial either, a must for creative minds. It could very well meet your basic requirements of photo editing.

No related posts.

Free Photo Editing Software: Image Resize Guide was originally published at I Love Free Software

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