It’s been out for a few months now and I’ve been trying it on a number of computers, running XP and Windows 7 64-bit. All work without an issue.

You install it and it runs during each boot up, timing it and looking at the various startup processes. Simply go into the software for a breakdown of those processes. They are divided into 3 sections – “no-brainer”, “potentially removable” and “cannot be removed.” The latter category mainly includes system software (and Soluto itself). The other 2 you can do something about – either delay (make the program start later, when the computer is idle) or pause (switch off) each. In all cases you can view each program in turn, viewing what information Soluto knows about it, and make the decision yourself as to what you wish to do with it.

In the case of my home PC, running Windows 7 64-bit, my boot currently takes 1:58. Without being overly aggressive, I have reduced this by 3.3. Unfortunately, running Soluto adds 3 seconds so I’ve hardly gained anything.

To be honest, as an “expert user” I know exactly which processed need removing and how to do it and I can often remove more than Soluto can. However, for the amateur “dabbler” this is an ideal solution as it provides all the help you could ask for, including details on what other people did and even allowing you to edit program descriptions.

Lastly, there’s a flashy history screen showing how your boot times have changed over time along with key changes that were made.

Summary of Soluto

A good quality product that really can help the amateur PC owner. However, for the geeks amongst us this may be a frustrating solution and, as the saying goes, results may vary. For a free product, there’s no excuse to not at least try it!

Reviewed by David Artiss on 23rd March 2011.

Promotional Video

Screenshots

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FileHippo provide a handy way to return a list of their latest software updates in JavaScript format and I was able to get a nice result with just the following code…

<li><h2>Latest Software Updates</h2>
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://www.filehippo.com/en/rss2/?format=js&icons=0" type="text/javascript"></script>
</li>

Note the icons=0 parameter. This has turned off the option to display icons next to the software packages – simply change this to icons=1 to display them again.

The output includes class names so you can use your stylesheet to modify its look (e.g. making the dates stand out, maybe in bold text).

Alternatively, from their own page you can design your own widget, compatible with pretty much all websites.

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You can download the install, portable or U3 versions from MajorGeeks and then use the serial number XSA092-11TA9R-8K12YT.

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It turns out that you can’t download MMS message when you’re using Wi-Fi. Now, this maybe a T-Mobile limited thing, but when you received an MMS, you get a simple text inviting you to download the media that’s attached to it (usually a picture). In my case, I’d click on the download button and it would then state that the download had failed – nothing more.

For, what I assume is, security reasons, this only works when using the phones data connection, not Wi-fi (where I guess it can’t authenticate you properly). If you’re using the latter, the data connection is not in use. So, turn off Wi-fi and the download works.

A simple fix, as it turns out, but frustrating until I knew.

Meantime, T-Mobile have, helpfully, put a useful tip on Twitter…

Having trouble sending MMS in your G2, ensure WiFi is switched off and re-try

Only the day after I found this out. I assume that was aimed at me

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So, I was set a challenge – find some Open Source software that most people won’t have come across.

Ok, that was the plan. Now, the limitations (self set). Nothing too technical, nor niche. No games (otherwise I could just easily provide a vast list of them). Oh, and they have to be Windows applications – no Linux, Mac, PHP scripts, etc.

I thought plunging into my Firefox bookmarks would yeald many but, sadly, most were either games or too technical for this list. Or I’ve covered them elsewhere in my blog. So, a number I’ve had to scourer SourceForge for (oh, I wish their search facility was better). And some goodies I’ve come up with too – here’s my 40 (in no particular order)…

TV-Browser
A desktop based EPG. It’s German in origin but includes UK channels. I’ve only had a brief play with it so far, but I’ve been impressed.

MP3Gain
This is something I’ve been using for years. Now, adding gain to MP3s (i.e. bringing them all up to a similar volume) is something built into many media players and burning products. However, MP3Gain is a standalone product designed to do this one task. And well.

DVDStyler
DVDStyler is a DVD authoring program for the creation of professional-looking DVDs. It allows not only burning of video files on DVD that can be played practically on any standalone DVD player, but also creation of own-designed DVD menus.

Arora
Yes, it’s another browser! Based on WebKit (like Chrome and Safari), it’s fast and available on a number of platforms. However, the fact that is has recently “elbowed out” Konqueror as the browser of choice in Kubuntu, has made news.

MuseScore
An excellent WYSIWYG musical score editor. It’s packed full of features, including importing of data and has a built in sequencer and synth.

SmillaEnlarger
Another simple idea, done well. SmillaEnlarger will magnify images in high quality. Useful for “blowing up” part of a photo. And it will go on a USB key as well.

AxCrypt
A file encryption tool that integrates directly into Windows Explorer. Simply right click on a file and you can quickly and easily encrypt it, with password protection (or without, for simple sending via email).

WindowsPager
If you’ve used Linux any time recently, you’ll probably have come across its virtual desktop environment, where you can easily switch between multiple desktops via an icon in the toolbar. Well, WindowsPager provides a similar facility. It’s not perfect, however, and I spotted a problem with Command Prompt windows, but it’s worth a try – as with most of these products, it’s still being worked on.

Synkron
Synkron is a relatively powerful folder synchronisation tool. How you use it, well, is up to you – for something as simple as synchronising a USB key to your PC, or as a quick backup tool.

Hugin
I said I’ve avoid anything too technical and, well, this isn’t. It’s just powerful. But if you’re a keen photographer, you’ll love this. It’s a photo stitcher (which can allow you, for example, to make panoramic images) which is a bit more manual that many (but, hence, it’s power).

PeaZip
PeaZip is an excellent compression program, like WinZip and 7-Zip. It also has file encrytion facilities and a portable version is available. Of course, 7-Zip is also Open Source, but PeaZip does, at least, offer an alternative.

Scribus
Scribus is a desktop publishing tool, similar to Microsoft Publisher. It has an easy to use interface but Scribus also supports professional publishing features, such as CMYK color, separations, Spot Colors, ICC color management and versatile PDF creation.

Appetizer
This is an application launcher which allows organizing your shortcuts and folders into a convenient dock. It supports plugins and skins, so is completely configurable to your own taste.

Storybook
Storybook is novel writing software for novelists, authors and creative writers. It will help you to keep an overview of multiple plot-lines, records characters and locations and will generally assist you in structuring your book.

InfraRecorder
InfraRecorder is free CD/DVD burning software. It offers a wide range of powerful features, all through an easy to use  interface and Windows Explorer integration. A portable version is also available.

BonkEnc
BonkEnc is a free audio converter and CD ripper which integrates various popular formats and encoders. It currently supports MP3, MP4/M4A, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC and Bonk files.

RedNotebook
RedNotebook is a graphical diary and journal helping you keep track of notes and thoughts. It includes a calendar navigation, customizable templates, export functionality and word clouds. You can also format, tag and search your entries.

Gminder
Gminder is a simple, but effective, desktop version of Google Calendar. It waits in your system tray and alerts you when you have an upcoming Google Calendar event. GMinder supports multiple calendars and allows you to configure how you want to be alerted. Since it downloads your events, it works offline and enables you to preview your agenda of events. New events can be added to your Google Calendars using a Quick Add feature.

Fwink
This is an excellent webcam application that takes still images from your camera at timed intervals and puts them on your web site with FTP. You can add effects like text messages, time stamps and an overlay image.

PopTray
PopTray is a full-featured, customizable, e-mail notifier which works with POP3 accounts but also has plugins for Hotmail, Gmail, etc. It includes spam management and will handle multiple accounts.

calibre
Got an eBook? calibre includes library management, format conversion, news feeds to eBook conversion, as well as an eBook reader sync feature and an integrated eBook viewer.

Process Hacker
Process Hacker is a feature-packed tool for manipulating processes and services on your computer. Think of it as being like the Task Manager that appears when you press CTRL/ALT/DEL but a lot more detailed.

JavaRa
JavaRa is a simple tool that does a simple job: it removes old and redundant versions of Java.

TweetMyPC
Make use of Twitter in other ways – send commands to your PC, allowing you to shutdown, log off, transfer files, etc.

Xmind
Xmind is brainstorming and mind mapping software. You can even embed results in your blog.

MonitorES
A fabulous idea – when your lock your desktop, MonitorES will automatically put your monitor into standby and, optionally, pause any media players, mute sound and change your Instant Messaging status’.

Sweet Home 3D
This is a free interior design application that helps you place your furniture on a house 2D plan, with a 3D preview

iColorFolder
Bored of your folders? With a quick right click, iColorFolder will allow you to change their colour – useful for grouping together. You can also change your default folder icons with a selection of “skins”.

Data Crow
Weird name, but useful application. Data Crow is media cataloguing software – audio, software, book, film and photo collections.

winsupermaximise
This is another “simple but handy” utility. It adds a system tray icon which, once clicked (or you can press a hotkey combination), will “super maximise” the current window – that is, it will resize so the title bar is actually above the screen boundaries, thus saving those extra pixels that you don’t want to waste. A great utility for Netbook owners, in particular.

PhotoGrabber
This application makes it easy to download tagged pictures from Facebook. It only takes a few clicks!

Cache My Work
CacheMyWork is a handy utility that enables you to reboot Windows without losing your place in your work. It builds a checklist of currently open applications, and will restart the apps you’ve selected the next time you logon to the computer.

SheepDog
SheepDog is useful whenever you have an application or window that you can’t access because it is located off your visible screen – when activated, SheepDog will re-position the offscreen windows back onto your main screen.

Vanity Remover
This application removes all sub-folders (and the folder itself) where vanity is found. In other words: Recursively checks for and deletes empty folders. Simple as that.

HKTunes
HKTunes (formerly iHK) allows you to control iTunes using global hotkeys. For example, you could change the track and music volume while playing a game. It has a tray menu and a GUI to let you select hotkeys.

Synergy+
Synergy+ lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between multiple computers with different operating systems, without special hardware. All you need is a LAN connection. It’s intended for users with multiple computers, where each system uses its own display. It’s a little like having a 2nd or a 3rd desktop…

Desktop Google Reader
Desktop Google Reader is a desktop client to Google’s popular RSS aggregator services. It is focused on on the most important things you do with Google Reader – read, mark as read and star items. In addition and in combination with the notification system Snarl it gives you nice popup notifications on your newly arriving news feed items.

ZScreen
ZScreen is a screen capture program that allows you to upload screenshots, pictures, text & files and put the URL in your clipboard in a single keystroke.

Rainmeter
Rainmeter is a desktop customization platform. Through Rainmeter, you can enhance your Windows computer at home or work with skins: handy, compact applets which float freely on your desktop, much like Windows Sidebar gagdgets, or dashboard widgets for the Mac.

ClipMan
Clipman is an extension of the standard clipboard shipped with Windows. You can store all the items copied in a list or send them back at the clipboard. If you want, you can also edit the images in the list.

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So, step forward Digiarty Software, who asked me to review their two latest products – a free iPod media converter and a free DVD to iPod ripper. Which would be good, if I actually owned an iPod. Besides, the email missed one essential detail – any kind of link to the product or their website. A quick “Google” found it though.

Having said that, lines in the email such as “Here May I request a review of  these software on your web?” doesn’t bode well. Was I really sent an email from “Sophia”?¹

Now, their website is very professional, which always makes me wonder why software is being given away free, especially when I can see they have an affiliate program. In this case, they also sell commercial software, which is their money maker. However, there’s something about them that doesn’t sit right.

There are spelling and grammatical errors throughout the site and their “Privacy Policy” page has obviously been ripped from the Intel website. Unless they meant to write…

This policy covers the Intel Corporate website and is applicable worldwide.

Their is no reference to where they are based, although the site contains many examples of “broken English”. Who would buy from a site with such a lack of identity? Indeed, when installing the software the copyright notice makes mention of being “protected by United Kingdom copyright laws”. This is then followed up by “The sole owner of this product is Digiarty Software, Inc.” I didn’t think that UK companies used the “Inc.” suffix?

So, next thing to do – look up the website in popular “checkers”. First up, the McAfee Site Advisor. This shows no problems with the downloads, and a contact country of the US. Next, Browser Defender shows much the same, but this time the US is identified as the location of the server. However, the contact is rather different.

HanZhicai
ZhiCai (softsupport@vip.sina.com)
+86.2885258636

I wish I knew where this contact information was sourced from, because a WHOIS lookup doesn’t provide anything of use (the contact information appears to be protected). However, the above name doesn’t appear on other sites, making reference to the aforementioned software.

Sorry, but I’m not going any further. If I’m going to download and install some “free” software, I need to be able to feel the source is trustworthy. In this case, I don’t.

1. curiously, it was a Sophia who contacted me to review EASEUS software a while ago. Hmmm

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However, in some cases, I find that when you browse to locate an application, it does not get added to the Open With dialogue.

This happened to me earlier after updating an application – the files normally associated with it weren’t, and I couldn’t get them to. However, a quick search on Google found an excellent, portable application for forcing program to be registered. Named “OpenWithAdd“, it works quickly and simply – launch a .exe and in the resultant Window, select the program you wish to add to the Open With dialogue. And that’s it. And in my case it worked a dream.

1. Byte remaining counter wasn’t counting down properly.
2. Small empty recordings were created (if selected to extract) if the extraction was cancelled. If ‘delete incomplete extracted files’ was checked in options then they would have been tidied up anyway. Files are no longer created now.

And two additional changes have been made…

1. A menu option to link to the authors blog.
2. Added an estimated time remaining for the extraction process. Use as a guide only.

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The author wasn’t planning on any further releases but changed his mind so that it could support drives over 500GB in size (which is possible, thanks to Copy+). And, whilst he was at it, he fixed some bugs, made some performance enhancements and gave the GUI a spruce-up.

Not bad for free software… but please donate if you like it.