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Any news reader/podcast receiver worth its disk space should do more than gather headlines. It should also help you search for and organize the latest and most in-depth information on the subjects you're most interested in. All of these functions and more make eSobi among the most popular information management tools available. It combines an RSS reader for searching and gathering the news and updates you want it to, a meta-search engine, and an information library built out of items you select, with eSobi's help. You can build a database of articles, references, and other saved materials … Read more

Hot Virtual Keyboard is an attractive and versatile virtual keyboard that gives users plenty of options for customization. With its many interfaces and helpful features, this is a great choice no matter your reason for needing a virtual keyboard.

The program's interface is sleek and intuitive, and a set-up wizard makes it easy for users to get started. There are almost 50 different keyboard interfaces to choose from, including number pads, and each one offers options to further customize the keyboard appearance. Each keyboard is also fully editable, letting users move and alter keys if they desire. We liked … Read more

ISO images, also known as disc images, are archival files found on optical discs like CD-ROMs. Many software publishers support the ISO file standard (.iso), and most CD- and DVD-burning software only works with ISO images and their own image formats. If you have software, presentations, archives, or other data to burn onto optical discs, you'll need to convert files in a wide range of formats into ISO images. AnyToISO from CrystalIdea is just the tool. It converts a wide range of file formats into ISO images, including BIN, MDF, PDI, CDI, NRG, B5I, and IMG files. It supports … Read more

Take control of your files with FileBoss. If you need a more robust tool for managing files than the one that came with your operating system, FileBoss has you covered. You can easily search, copy, rename, explore, back up, and organize your files with this multifeatured application. It lets you search for files by name, extension, type, size, and more. You can rename individual or multiple files. You can also use FileBoss to change or delete spaces in file names. FileBoss can display your computer's overall contents, delete duplicate files, and organize your folders. It also copies files from … Read more

If you've ever upgraded the hard drive in your laptop (or thought about doing so), you've probably wondered what to do with the old drive. After all, it's still perfectly good storage.

Answer: Turn it into an external, USB hard drive. All you need is an enclosure, a sturdy casing for the drive that provides an IDE interface and USB connection.

Today only, deal-a-day site Froobi has a SimpleTech 2.5-inch USB external hard drive enclosure for free (plus $5.95 for shipping).

The enclosure is very compact, measuring roughly 0.75 inch thick by 3 inches … Read more

Awhile ago Western Digital released its top-capacity laptop hard drive, the Scorpio Blue, which is the first 2.5-inch hard drive to offer 1TB of storage. On Tuesday, Toshiba announced its own largest laptop hard drive to date, the MKxx65GSX, which caps at 640GB.

Though smaller in capacity, the new Toshiba hard drive has two advantages over the WD Scorpio Blue. First, it spins at 5400rpm as opposed to the 5200rpm of the WD, meaning it potentially has a faster throughput speed.

The new Toshiba drive also comes in the regular 9.5mm thickness and therefore will work in all applications where SATA 2.5-inch hard drives currently are used. The Scorpio Blue is 12.5mm thick and therefore only fits in laptops with a larger hard drive bay.

The new hard drive is built based on Toshiba's new 320GB-per-platter design which, according to the company, reduces power consumption and heat dissipation by more than 80 percent compared with 3.5-inch hard drives of the same capacity. This helps save energy and prolong the life span of the drive.… Read more

Quran Auto Reciter provides users with a program for listening and reading the Koran. Thanks to a set of simple controls and excellent sound, this program is a great tool for anyone interested in this classic text.

This program's interface looks slightly cluttered, but fortunately its various boxes, choices, and the media player all quickly make sense and feel intuitive. In addition, the program has a Help file waiting to be utilized, and anything highlighted in blue on the screen is a click away from a pop-up window with user hints. Operating the Quran Auto Reciter was pleasantly simple, … Read more

If you're impressed by the previous generation of Iomega's eGo external hard drive, you'll probably like this one better.

Iomega announced Monday the worldwide availability of its new generation of eGo portable hard drives that feature a new look, up to 500GB of storage, and multiple colors including ruby red, sparkling silver, midnight blue, and black.

All of the models have USB 2.0 and are bus-powered, meaning you only need to carry a single cable that works as both the data and power cord. The included cable is a Y-shape USB cable that lets you use … Read more

Startup Delayer helps users avoid a slow system start by giving them control over programs that automatically load when Windows boots up.

This program provides a simple interface to work with. The screen is dominated by the list of programs your computer opens when starting Windows. Above this list is a short row of icons that allow you to add and remove programs and organize the time they are opened.

Adding a program is as simple as locating it in the file tree and then assigning it a specific time to open after Windows has begun. From there it is … Read more