I used to use Symantec Anti-virus, which is not free, and it would cause errors all the time. Then finally I switched to AVG Anti-virus, the free edition of course.  I’ve been using it for some time now, and it has worked flawlessly.

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Last week, I mentioned how there was a beta version of Adium that suported Facebook chat.  Well, that version is beta no more.  In addition to the support for Facebook, there is also a redesigned Contact Inspector (it used to be called Get Info), a Contact List search box is newly available, and there are many performance and compatibility updates.  Current Adium users can just go to “Check for Updates…” and get the newest version directly.  Of course, you can always download it from the Adium website.  This new version is an improvement over the old version with no downsides, therefore I have no reservations giving it our new Seal of Approval.

I like Google, along with most of the software it  has rolled out over the years. One of the gems Google has released is Picasa2, a free fully featured photo organizer. Its the best photo organizer I’ve used on Windows, that’s why it’s the first program to receive our brand new seal of approval, this does not mean previously reviewed programs are not as good, but we just came up with the seal. Read on after the break to find out more about Picasa2.

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Over the years Adobe Reader has tacked on a lot of unnecessary software, today Adobe Reader 9 is 33.5MB. Foxit Reader is a great free alternative, weighing in at a mere 2.6MB.  It’s no frills, but really what do you need out of a PDF reader besides reading PDF’s?  Foxit is also a lot faster than Adobe Reader, read on after the break to find out more.

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So Luofei talked me into trying a new launcher for Windows called Executor and I put it to the test against Launchy. I’m just gonna tell you right now, in my opinion Launchy wins hands down. Read on after the break to find out why.

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While TextEdit is lot more full-featured than NotePad on Windows, it still is lacking in many features for those who do a lot of programming or text editing.  In fact, TextEdit provides no easy way to save to .txt.  That is where TextWrangler comes in.  TextWrangler comes from the makers of BBedit, a professional text editor which costs $199 for a license.  Even though I have access to BBedit through school, I still prefer TextWrangler because it is lighter on resources and has all the features that I could ask for.  TextWrangler biggest draws are that you can have multiple files open in one window, it highlights code, auto-indent, and advanced find and replace options.  Read on for an example of how powerful TextWrangler is.

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I am a rather forgetful person, so I need to write things down in order to remember to do them.  I use lots of different methods to remind myself: send myself emails, write it on Post-its, use virtual Stickies on the computer, etc.  All this can get rather disorganized.  One thing that keeps my to-do lists organized is Anxiety.  Anxiety shares the same to-do list library as iCal, it just leaves a constant reminder on your desktop of what you need to do.  You can even add and edit to-dos directly from the application.  Anxiety is a lightweight way to handle to-dos and reminders without the cluttered look that comes with virtual Stickies.  The integration with other applications is also a real plus, so you don’t have to keep track of two separate lists.  Note: Unfortunately, Anxiety is Leopard only.

Onyx is a great piece of software that should be on every Mac computer.  It serves as a cleanup/maintenance utility, and it has some additional features that allow you to customize settings in your Mac beyond what is usually available.  The main things I use Onyx for are to run the periodic Mac cleanup scripts, check my hard drive’s S.M.A.R.T. status (which could warn you of impending hard drive failure), and periodically clear out the various caches of system data.  Onyx can do so much more as well.  I used Onyx to tweak the appearance preferences of my windows.  For instance, all the scrollbars in my windows have both up/down arrows at both ends.  Onyx allows you to make tweaks like this without having to know the cryptic Terminal command.  Click the link after the jump to get Onyx now.

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For Mac users out there who want to run Windows programs frequently, Boot Camp does not really cut it because it requires a restart to get into Windows.  Parallels and VMware Fusion both allow you to run Windows apps in Mac OS X seamlessly.  Those two programs solve the issue of constantly restarting, but they are also rather pricey (at least they are too expensive for my budget).  For those people, there is another option: VirtualBox.  VirtualBox works the same way as Parallels and VMware Fusion and has most of the same features as well.  The main thing it lacks is the price tag.  I have not used VirtualBox myself, but I have found a comprehensive tutorial on how to set it up for your Mac.  Follow the link after the jump.

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As a Boot Camp user, I have run into many frustrations when I can access the files on my Windows partition from the Mac side, but cannot access files on the Mac partition from the Windows side.  I know I could just buy MacDrive, but I don’t have $50 to spend on a single purpose application like that.  Luckily, I discovered HFSExplorer.  While not nearly as elegant as MacDrive, HFSExplorer gets the job done for accessing files on my Mac partition.  Since it is free, it can’t hurt to try it if you run Boot Camp.