Software News
Popular News
Old Windows is new again
- Details
- Category: Industry News
- Published on Monday, 19 October 2015 09:07
- Written by Christian Dunn
Feeling like a bit of Windows Nostalgia?
Take a trip down memory lane by trying some of these emulators to remind you of the good times of what Windows was...
PDF Converter Elite 4 (Windows)
- Details
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Friday, 24 July 2015 01:00
- Written by Christian Dunn
The team at PDFConverter.com produce software to help you convert a PDF to just about any editable format. As PDF is the most common and compatible form of document for sharing with your partners and clients, improving your business workflow and efficiency when working with PDFs can save you a lot of time and money.
- Spend less time on revising and modifying your documents
- Prepare customized reports
- Replace paper with electronic documents
- Exchange documents instantly
- Have total document protection
- Cut your document archiving costs Handle scanned records
The latest software from PDFConverter.com is their beautiful PDF Converter Elite 4 which can provide your business with the most insightful way to create, edit and manipulate digital documents and is a great favorably-priced alternative to Adobe Acrobat. You can also try it free with their online converter or 7 day free trial.
 Sample-Files.zip | 192 kB | 2015-07-24 |
Web Stalker 1.4 Release
- Details
- Category: Software News
- Published on Wednesday, 08 July 2015 00:28
- Written by Christian Dunn
Web Stalker v1.4 has now been released. This application allows website administrators to monitor site URLs to confirm that they are operating and responding correctly. It tests any given collection of URLs for their HTTP response code. When an invalid response code is detected the application can raise an alert or send an email. The online user guide contains additional information on how to use this feature.
New in version 1.4 is the ability to clear all sites from the list, a feature to automatically search IIS for virtual directories to populate sites on windows machines and numerous minor fixes.
WebStalker is a FREE addition to the Stalker Monitoring applications.
Try Web Stalker today.
Web Stalker 1.3 Release
- Details
- Category: Software News
- Published on Sunday, 05 July 2015 23:43
- Written by Christian Dunn
NEW Web Stalker v1.3 has been released. This new application allows website administrators to monitor site URLs to confirm that they are operating and responding correctly. WebStalker is a FREE addition to the Stalker Monitoring applications. It tests any given collection of URLs for their HTTP response code. When an invalid response code is detected the application can raise an alert or send an email. The online user guide contains additional information on how to use this feature.
Try Web Stalker today.
Stalker Go makes batch files even easier
- Details
- Category: Software News
- Published on Sunday, 01 February 2015 00:42
- Written by Christian Dunn
Stalker Go is a free application in my range of Stalker Monitoring applications. Stalker Go replaces custom vbscripts, batch files or commands by allowing you to launch multiple programs or applications in one click. Designed to complement my other Stalker applications by providing a single trigger which can be scheduled to run a check of all monitoring applications, Stalker Go can be used by anyone to launch any applications at any time. Works well with Windows Task Scheduler to automatic any applications or scripts without having to manage multiple scheduled tasks.
The latest version of Stalker Go now handles command line parameters. This allows it to import and export batch or command files and provides additional tools to assist in the configuration of Stalker monitoring applications. Taking advantage of the target machine function of Stalker monitoring applications you can now use Stalker Go to test and configure monitoring on a range of servers from one central location. You can edit or remove individual items from the command list. Stalker monitoring applications have a special configuration window allowing easy selection of the configuration file and remote machine and provide a Configuration button to launch the monitor in a configurable mode allowing you to change settings quickly as required.
If you write scripts, batch files or commands then Stalker Go is a useful tool to make this easier.
Stalker Go is 100% FREE.
Look for it under Stalker Monitoring in my software section.
What Windows 10 means for you
- Details
- Category: Industry News
- Published on Monday, 26 January 2015 22:14
- Written by Christian Dunn
On Wednesday 21st Microsoft took the wraps off the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview known as the Consumer Preview. Microsoft described Windows 10 as "the first step to an era of more personal computing" that would allow your apps, services and content to move with you across devices, seamlessly and easily. The webinar showed the future Microsoft envisions where the same operating system can seamlessly work across all our devices.
So what does this really mean for you? I have pulled apart the key features in the latest preview to break it down for you.
What Windows 10 shows is that Microsoft is listening and this is apparent in the changes they have introduced. The first and most important note is that they want you to have it and fast. This means that Windows 10 will be free for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users to upgrade in the first year.
Print Queue Manager 6.0.0.16
- Details
- Category: Software News
- Published on Thursday, 22 January 2015 23:33
- Written by Christian Dunn
Print Queue Manager 6 (Build 16) is now released!!
This release includes a fix to check for database drivers installed on the client machine. The required drivers are included in some versions of Microsoft Office but some users may not have these installed. If the drivers are not found when the software is licenced then the user will be prompted to download these from Microsoft.
This release was also tested on the Windows 10 Technical Preview to ensure compatibility.
Dashboards with Style - thedash.com
- Details
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 22 January 2015 23:25
- Written by Christian Dunn
The Dash is a realtime dashboard app for your website, your business and your life. The Dash allows you to create unique dashboards on a freeform canvas that connect to popular services or custom data sources and can be private or shared.
The Dash produces instantly good looking razor sharp dashboards that dazzle on high resolution displays yet work just as well on phones and tablets.
The Dash is the newest dashboard platform I have tested but it was definitely the most polished in terms of a clean, fresh and easy to use interface. What it lacked in terms of features it made up for in usability and simplicity.
How I got started in IT
- Details
- Category: Opinion
- Published on Monday, 19 January 2015 23:58
- Written by Christian Dunn
How did you get started in IT? This is my favourite and most hated question to ask or be asked in this industry. This is because it is never a simple question but always a fascinating one. This primarily stems from the fact that the IT industry itself is only young. While the first personal computer, the Programma 101, was launched in 1965 it was the Apple II and the Commodore in 1977 that really kicked off the computer industry. If we consider Windows 1.0 was launched in 1985 and the internet reached Australia in the late 80s before becoming mainstream in the mid 90s then it really is apparent how young this industry is.
This all came back to me after reading Okepi's blog recently on how he became a programmer by googling well and highlights my 8th golden troubleshooting rule, you don't need to know the answer to everything, you need to know how to find the answer to anything and reminded me how I got started in this industry.
Dashboards with grunt - cyfe.com
- Details
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Tuesday, 13 January 2015 00:50
- Written by Christian Dunn
Cyfe is an all-in-one business dashboard app that helps you easily monitor all your business data from one place. Whether you work in support, sales or service, metrics are what drives your team and your business. Displaying those metrics on a clear and concise dashboard is the best way to incentivise your staff and help you to achieve your goals. Cyfe makes that easy with a wide range of powerful widgets available for display that can be configured in minutes and being cloud based there is no software to install and no configuration required.
This social dashboard I built in a few minutes integrating Twitter, LinkedIn, FaceBook and RSS.
Able2Extract 9.0
- Details
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Monday, 12 January 2015 00:32
- Written by Christian Dunn
The team at Investintech have just launched the latest update to their Able2Extract PDF Converter.
Able2Extract PDF Converter 9.0 excels in it's ability to convert PDFs back to word, excel, powerpoint, publisher, autocad, image formats and open document formats.
Version 9 now introduces some great new features including:
- Ability to create PDFs
- Apply security options to your PDFs
- Document editing
- Modify document meta data
- Modify viewing preferences
- delete, resize, rotate, scale or move PDF pages as required
- Enhanced interface for easy PDF creation in 2 clicks
- Improved PDF 2 Excel conversion panel for increased control
- Advanced PDF rendering for a more accurate layout and sharp graphics
- Cross Platform - now supports Windows, OS X and Linux (Ubuntu and Fedora)
Yo - SendYo and Yo ASP
- Details
- Category: Software News
- Published on Sunday, 11 January 2015 23:19
- Written by Christian Dunn
Yo - It's that simple. Now that Yo has become more advanced and includes a more capable API it was time to return to Yo and look at what we could do to take advantage of this simple but powerful application.
Yo is a zero character communication tool that sends 1 message, Yo, between users on mobile devices. This simplicity has now been extended with an API that allows a Yo to contain a link or location and this allows actionable information to be included with our Yo and I have built some tools to assist you in doing so.
Happy New Year
- Details
- Category: Site News
- Published on Monday, 05 January 2015 00:28
- Written by Christian Dunn
Happy New Year to all visitors to www.chrisdunn.name!
As a special thank you to my valued customers and a new years present I have dropped the prices of Print Queue Manager (was $14.95 now $9.95) and Lookup (was $14.95 now $4.95).
I have also begun distributing more of my applications through the Association of Software Professionals and Download.com.
Keep your eyes out for some great reviews and more opinion columns coming soon.
Tawk.To Free Live Chat
- Details
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Tuesday, 30 December 2014 00:59
- Written by Christian Dunn
Tawk.To is a free live chat app that lets you monitor and chat with visitors on your webpage free of charge.
Providing good support is about knowing your customers. This means you know when they need assistance and you provide them with easy ways to get assistance so they can find the answer they need in the shortest amount of time. Tawk.To is by far the easiest and most efficient online chat app I have seen. It is not an awkward chat script or html frames, instead it is an inobtrusive interactive chat client that you can configure in minutes and begin servicing your customers while you spend time working through the advanced functionality it offers.
My 8 Golden Rules to Troubleshooting
- Details
- Category: Opinion
- Published on Tuesday, 23 December 2014 00:02
- Written by Christian Dunn
These are my 8 Golden Rules to Troubleshooting....
1. The 'best' solution is always a compromise.
No solution is perfect. Every solution requires some compromise. This could be a compromise on a business process solution as opposed to a technical solution, or could be a compromise on what is achievable by tomorrow and what is achievable next week. Understanding the critical measures when developing a solution will assist in ensuring the best solution is implemented.
2. There is never just 1 solution.
If my car breaks down tomorrow, I can call a mechanic or a taxi, or walk or cycle to work. There might be a reason why some of these aren't suitable but they are all solutions to the problem. If you only see one solution look again.