Desktop Enhancements

Those intrigued by the "GodMode" in Windows 7 may be interested to know that there are many other similar shortcuts hidden within the operating system.

Intended for developers as a shortcut to various internal settings, such features have been around since Vista and even before, according to the head of Microsoft's Windows division, who tells CNET that the so-called GodMode settings folder uncovered by bloggers is just one of many undocumented developer features included in Windows.

In an e-mail interview, Steven Sinofsky, Windows division president, said several similar undocumented features provide direct access to all kinds of … Read more

Although its name suggests perhaps even grander capabilities, Windows enthusiasts are excited over the discovery of a hidden "GodMode" feature that lets users access all of the operating system's control panels from within a single folder.

By creating a new folder in Windows 7 and renaming it with a certain text string at the end, users are able to have a single place to do everything from changing the look of the mouse pointer to making a new hard-drive partition.

The trick is also said to work in Windows Vista, although some are warning that although it … Read more

The release of Windows 7 has had a number of Boot Camp users wondering about official support from Apple. Installing Windows 7 over Vista will give numerous advantages, even if for nothing more than to increase the stability of the operating system; however, because Apple has not officially supported Windows, our recommendation so far has been to hold off on using it under Boot Camp, and run it in a virtual machine instead.… Read more

This past year was not the best for new software developments. There were no surprising game-changers like Google Chrome in 2008, and no watershed moments. However, that doesn't mean there weren't some cool releases. I suspect that much of the best software of 2009 winds up becoming the foundation for innovations in 2010.

Obviously, the continuing development of Google Chrome was a major story, especially since it skyrocketed in market share based on its zippy engine and smooth JavaScript handling. If you're not using Chrome, you owe it to yourself to try it out. But it's … Read more

The icons that reside in the Windows notification area (near the clock in the taskbar) convey much useful information at a glance. Is my network link live? How's my notebook's battery? Is there really yet another Windows update ready to be installed?

But one bit of information I often want to know is how much of my CPU is in use at any given time. Now the notification area gives me the lowdown on my processor as well. All I did was add a Task Manager shortcut to Windows' start-up folder and set the shortcut to open minimized.… Read more

Desktop customizations developer Stardock is giving you a few more ways to conquer desktop clutter with the release of Fences Pro, a premium version of the free icon organizer Fences.

When we reviewed Fences this past October, and as we followed the app's beta development in the many preceding months, we appreciated how Fences let us flexibly create, reshape, and edit windows on our desktop where we store our (relatively few) desktop icons. Our chief complaint was that all new icons downloaded to the desktop by default. We wanted to apply rules that automatically place specific icons in the correct folders.

Fences Pro ($19.95) largely answers our request; or at least it tries to. Fences Pro's settings menu not only lets you name a default folder in which all newly installed icons should appear, it also showcases a list of rules you can configure to deposit specific types of icons (images, music videos, etc.) into any of your "fences." The icon installation rules worked well in our tests, saving pictures we downloaded from the Web to our specified "Pics" fence, and application shortcuts to "Programs."

In addition, you can organize icons based on name, time, and customized rules. As you tweak or create rules, you'll choose from options like "the icon's type" "is" or "is not" a program shortcut, virtual item, compressed file, executable, and so on. You may have to spend some trial-and-error time with the drop-down menus in order to make your rule watertight.

Rules aren't the only extra features to crop into Fences Pro.… Read more

Starting Monday, BlackBerry devotees will have an easier time snazzing up their smartphones.

Themes are a new download category in the BlackBerry App World, both on the online catalog and on the App World app you can download to the BlackBerry. There were just shy of 150 free and premium visual themes at launch, including animated themes.

App World took a few extra seconds to update when we launched it this morning to check out the offerings. Otherwise, the minor application update was a smooth transition.

There are a few sales over the Thanksgiving long weekend here in the U.S. with some developers slashing prices on many popular iPhone games. Huge iPhone game developer, Gameloft, is having a 99-cent sale on many of their popular game titles throughout the weekend. EA Games is also in on the action, offering price cuts to several of their big titles. Some games I've talked about here like Madden NFL 10, FIFA 10, and NBA Live are $6.99 for a limited time (usually $9.99) and there are a lot of other great deals. If you've … Read more

The Dock is an integral part of OS X that Apple has styled in a one-size-fits-all manner. While the feature does work well, Apple's approach has kept a number of people at odds when features of the Dock have changed. For instance, in Leopard when Apple added reflections and changed the indicator to a white dot, many people found the view to be rather unappealing.… Read more