Downloads & apps

As increasingly we're carrying tablets and smartphones with us, we expect them to double as work tools so we can at least see our data, if not work on it, too. However, there are significant compatibility and access issues to deal with anytime you step away from your desk. Here we explore these issues with Excel spreadsheets and offer one possible solution.

One of the key things about Android is the fact that it’s based on the Linux operating system. Along with that comes many of Linux’s benefits, not the least of which is its open nature, made even more so by gaining root access or ‘rooting’ your phone. It’s when you think outside the box that you find Android capable of some wonderfully creative solutions — including turning your Android phone or tablet into a server.

A piece about buckyballs catches your eye on the ABC web site. As you read it, you find a link to a Wikipedia article about carbon nanotubes. Opening that page, you find yourself clicking on references to buckypaper, nanoflowers, tensegrity spheres and a biography of Buckminster Fuller. Soon, you have half a dozen tabs open in your browser, filled with fascinating information and no time to read any of it. The old solution would have been to bookmark each of those pages in the hope that you’d eventually find time to sit down at your computer and read them.

When it comes to creating PowerPoint presentations, there are two skills you need. One is the skill to create the contents for an informative presentation and the second is the skill to make it look good. If you’re good at creating the presentation content, but struggle with making it all look good in a reasonable timeframe, then VisualBee can help. We’ll show you how to add some pizzazz to your presentations with this PowerPoint add-in.

In the early days, you were pretty safe taking your smartphone online; now you can’t afford to be complacent. As we’ve said before, smartphones are just tiny computers that fit in your hand. And just like any other computer, they’re susceptible to virus attacks and hackers. Here we look at three free Android security apps and other tips.

Looking for an easy-to-use audio/video converter? Check out PC User RockPod 2. For the first time ever, our popular media converter is yours to download for free – for a limited time. RockPod 2 isn’t the latest version, but it still offers plenty of must-have features, including:

Some larger software downloads, such as the Windows slipstreaming tool Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), are distributed as as an .iso file, which you need to burn to a CD or DVD in order to use. Or do you? To save you the bother of burning a disc, or to test it first, you can 'mount' the .iso file (turn it into a virtual CD or DVD),which makes it appear to Windows as an optical disc drive. All you need is an ISO mounting program such as Virtual CloneDrive from www.slysoft.com/en/.

In Windows 7, Microsoft wisely dialled back the prompts that drove Vista users to distraction. There’s no denying that UAC, which necessitates your explicit approval before any major system change, is a good thing, but Vista’s implementation was enough to make you want to switch it off altogether. No doubt that’s just what many people did. The Windows 7 implementation of UAC strikes a much more comfortable balance between safety and usability. Still, there are times when you may need to circumvent a particular UAC prompt. Here we show you how.

Dropbox has become extremely popular as an automatic way of backing up data to the Internet and making it accessible from multiple computers. While it works very well and on a wide variety of operating systems and devices, it has two potential annoyances. The first is that by default, it only duplicates files in the set Dropbox folder, which the software itself sets up. The other is that it only gives you 2GB of online storage for free. Here we'll show how sync files from outside your Dropbox folder, and how to gain some more storage for free.

Aside from the peer-to-peer (P2P) clients themselves, there are a host of tools you’ll likely find useful when you’re downloading from P2P networks. There are tools that create a virtual sandbox, block suspect IP addresses, access your P2P client remotely, stream video and audio, protect against viruses and more. Here’s our pick of the five best P2P helper tools.