Free is for ME!

by Ryan Zeck

PART 2 OF 2 BY RYAN ZECK
I’m back for the second round of free programs to make your life easier! This go ‘round we will explore a few pieces of software that will impress your friends and co-workers. Last time we talked about Synergy, Search Commands, and Speed Launch. Today I would like to expose programs named Duplicate Cleaner, Chrome, and Google Voice. All of which are FREE!

Let’s get it started by taking a look at Duplicate Cleaner. From time to time you might create some back up files in a different location, say on the server or on an external hard drive. Then later you might modify (on accident, of course) the backup copy and not the original. So how do you tell which one is which? That’s easy right?

Of course it is for one file, it’s a simple RIGHT CLICK, properties or look at the details of the files and compare them. However what happens if you have thousands of files and you don’t remember which one you have change and which you haven’t? Now what? Well that’s where Duplicate cleaner can help out.

The interface is straight forward and easy to understand. Tell it where you want to look for duplicates and it will go and find pairs of files. How does it know which is a duplicate? You must tell it the kind of search criteria to use. You have several options: content, file name, size, or date. You also can use a file type filter (see image). You can find the download here:

Duplicate Cleaner

Do you ever browse the internet? Ok, dumb question since you are reading this on the internet, but what program are you using? Internet Explorer? Safari? Firefox? How about Chrome? Everyone should know about the browser Microsoft offers called Internet Explorer, but have you ever heard of Google Chrome? Now I must admit I haven’t used Internet Explorer for several years now but only recently, made the switch to Chrome.

During the transition period between IE to Chrome I used Mozilla Firefox. Firefox has a ton of great features and even more add-ins, but it had several drawbacks that pushed me to look elsewhere. One of the problems was how slowly it loaded every time I wanted to start it. It wasn’t something I ever realized until I started using Chrome. Chrome loads almost instantaneously. You can find the download here: Google Chrome

Another issue I had with Firefox was the inability for it to handle my Google Voice add-in. Google Voice you ask? Well that is the next program I would recommend.

Google now offers phone numbers to whoever wants one for FREE. The phone number is yours after you get to choose what number you want. The best thing about Google Voice (along with Chrome) is an add-in (which is also free) that turns every phone number in your browser into a hyperlink. When you select the hyperlink a couple things happen. One thing is it calls the phone of your choice (i.e. your office phone, cell phone, or your computer through Gtalk) and then it dials the phone number that you clicked! It’s like having a secretary to get someone on the phone for you!

There are several other benefits from using Google Voice, like being able to forward your calls to different numbers based off the caller ID. Get it here: Google Voice
Thanks for taking the time to read about these three programs. I hope you enjoy Duplicate Cleaner, Google Chrome, and Google Voice.

Feel free to email me at rzeck@trimech.com or find me on Linked In at http://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanzeck